
THE STORY OF 

ATlERiCAN HSKM 





The Minute Man of '76. 



THE STORY OF 

AMERICAN HISTORY 

FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

BY 

ALBERT F. BLAISDELL 

Author of "First Steps with American and British Authors," 
"Stories from English History," etc. 



GINN AND COMPANY 

BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON 



Copyright, 1900, by 
ALBERT F. BLAISDELL 



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

614.2 



qiiiti 
iDon 
intl 
Fi 
unsa 



GIN'N AND COMPANY- PRO- 
PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. 



PREFACE. 



Some sort of a first book on American history is now 
quite generally used in schools as a preparation for the 
more intelligent study of a larger and more formal text-book 
in the higher grammar grades. 

For beginners, a mere compilation of facts is dry and 
unsatisfactory. Such books have now given place, for the 
most part, to those prepared on a more attractive and 
judicious plan. The real aim in a first book should be 
to interest boys and girls in the history of their country, 
and to encourage them to cultivate a taste for further 
study and reading. 

This book is intended for use in the earlier grammar 
grades and to be preliminary to the study of a more 
advanced work in the higher grades. The author has 
also kept in mind the fact that the school life of many 
children is brief, and that all their instruction in Amer- 
ican history must come from a text-book of this kind. 

The author has not aimed to cover the whole range of 
our country's history. Of many noted men and important 



iv Preface. 

affairs no mention is made. Only the leading events of cer- 
tain periods and the personal achievements of a few repre- 
sentative ''makers of our country" are treated in any 
detail. The 'subject is approached through biographical 
sketches of a few of the more illustrious actors in our 
nation's history. Some prominence is given to exceptional 
deeds of valor, details of everyday living in olden times, 
dramatic episodes, and personal incident. 

The schoolroom test demonstrates the fact that such a 
treatment of the subject is more attractive and profitable to 
children of the lower grades than the mere recital of minor 
matters and petty details of public events. 

The author would acknowledge his indebtedness to Dr. 
Homer B. Sprague of New York City for editorial help in 
reading and revising the manuscript. Thanks are also due 
to Dr. John E. Sanborn of Melrose, Mass., for editorial 
assistance. A. F. BLAISDELL. 

November, 1900= 



Note. — The attention of teachers and pupils is especially directed to the 
practical usefulness of the subject of " Reference Books and Supplementary 
Reading for Successive Periods in American History," as treated on pages 
424-435 in the Appendix. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER PAtiE 

I. America in the Old Days i 

II. Columbus and the Discovery of America ... lo 

III. Sir Walter Raleigh and Captain John Smith . 31 

IV. The Story of the Pilgrims 47 

V. More about the Pilgrims 60 

VI. The Indians and how they lived 73 

VII. The Dutch in New York ; The Quakers in Penn- 
sylvania 88 

VIII. The French and Indian Wars 106 

IX. Everyday Life in Colonial Times 126 

X. The Beginning of the Revolution 139 

XI. Lexington and Concord 158 

XII. The Battle of Bunker Hill 170 

XIII. The Declaration of Independence 184 

XIV. The Burgoyne Campaign 198 

XV. Washington and the Revolution 222 

XVI. The War of the Revolution in the South . . 250 

XVI I. The Story of Arnold's Treason 271 

XVIII. John Paul Jones : Our First Great Naval Hero . 286 

V 



VI 



Contents. 



XIX. Benjamin Franklin : his Highly Useful Career 296 



XX. Everyday Life One Hundred Years Ago 

XXI. What our Navy did in the War of 181 2 

XXII. The Settlement of the Pacific Coast 

XXIII. Lincoln and the War for the Union 

XXIV. More about the War for the Union 

XXV. Our Navy in the War for the Union 

XXVI. The War with Spain in i8q8 . . . . 



311 

323 
339 
353 
369 
387 
406 



Appendix. Books for Reference and Collateral Reading in the 

Study of American History 424 



Index 



436 



THE STORY OF AMERICAN HISTORY 



D^^C 



CHAPTER I. 

AMERICA IN THE OLD DAYS. 

1. The Story of our Country. — We are sure that every 
intelligent and patriotic American youth must like 
to read the story of our country's life. To a boy or 
girl of good sense no work of fiction can surpass it in 
interest or power. 

How delightful to let the imagination summon up 
the forms and the deeds of the fearless Norse sailors 
who dared to cross the unknown seas in their frail 
and tiny vessels without compass and without charts ! 
How interesting the oft-told but ever-fresh narrative 
of the intrepid Columbus and his memorable first voy- 
age into and across the " Sea of Darkness " ! What 
romance was evermore exciting than the stories of the 
fierce struggles between the white men and the Indians 
for existence and supremacy on this continent ? 



2 The Story of A mericau History. 

How deep the pathos of the simple tales that tell of 
the patient sufferings, the severe toils, the ever-present 
dangers, and the heroic self-denials of the early col- 
onists in making for themselves homes in the New 
World ! How richly suggestive are those pages that 
record the glorious events of our American Revolution 
— the splendid and immortal deeds of Washington and 
his illustrious associates ! 

Then there is the thrilling account of the most 
tremendous civil war in all history, with its four mil- 
lion soldiers, its two thousand battles, and its preser- 
vation of the 'Union. 

And to come down to a time within the memory of 
every schoolboy, the echoes of the Spanish-American 
conflict have hardly yet died away. The story of this 
short war in the summer of 1898 still rings in our 
ears — with its astounding naval victories at Manila 
and Santiago, the freedom of Cuba, and the destruc- 
tion of the last vestige of the once mighty Spanish 
supremacy on this western continent ! 

2. Lessons of Wisdom and Inspiration to be learned. — But 
beyond and above all mere gratification and pleasure 
to be derived from the study of our country's history, 
there are in it lessons of wisdom to be learned, there 
is inspiration to noble living, there is an uplifting of 
the soul to a higher plane of thought and sentiment, 



America in the Old Days, . 3 

there is constant aid in the development and upbuild- 
ing of manly and womanly character. 

And when we think of the marvelous growth of less 
than three centuries which, beginning with the infant 
colonies of Jamestown and Plymouth, has made us 
a nation of more than seventy millions ; when w^e 
think of the wonderful record of trial and triumph 
and unceasing progress, and of the great and good 
and wise men that have laid the foundations and 
reared the superstructure of this mighty temple of 
liberty, — we must be blind indeed and ungrate- 
ful beyond expression not to recognize with de- 
vout thankfulness the guiding hand of a beneficent 
Providence. 

America, under God, stood at Plymouth for reli- 
gious freedom ; in the Revolution, for independence ; in 
our civil war, for the preservation of the Union. She 
now stands for humanity, civilization, and the uplifting 
of the whole race. 

3. The People of Ancient America. — Wise men who 
have made a special study of the subject tell us that 
this country has been continuously inhabited by gen- 
erations of men for many thousands of years. Rude 
tools, and human skulls, intermingled with bones of ani- 
mals of species long extinct, have been found in caves 
or dug out of deep layers of earth ; and they indicate 



4 The Story of America^i History. 

that in the Mississippi valley and on the Atlantic and 
Pacific slopes there lived, perhaps hundreds of ages 
ago, men of a low grade of culture. 

In the great museums — as the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution at Washington, the Peabody Museums at Cam- 
bridge and New Haven, and the natural history rooms 
at New York and elsewhere — may be seen thousands 
of the relics of vanished races of men and animals that 
once inhabited this continent. 

4. The Red Men or Indians. — The Indians constitute 
a race by themselves. Whether they are descended 
from some of those prehistoric inhabitants of whom 
we have just spoken no one can say ; but they make 
up an American type with marks as clearly recog- 
nized as. those that distinguish the Mongolians and 
the Malays. For long ages the red m.en had spread 
themselves over the two continents, from Hudson Bay 
to Cape Horn. With few or no exceptions, all had 
the same copperish or cinnamon color, deep-set and 
intensely black eyes, high cheek-bones, straight black 
hair, with little or no beard ; but the long lapse of 
time, the great varieties of environment, and perhaps 
other causes, brought about striking differences of ap- 
pearance, of manners, customs, dialects, and the like. 

5. Three Principal Divisions of the Indians. — The emi- 
nent historian. Dr. John Fiske, groups the Indians in 



America i7i the Old Days. 



three leading divisions, — as savage, barbarous, and 
half-civilized. 

The savage Indians ranged to the west of Hudson 
Bay, and southward between the Rocky Mountains and 
the Pacific, to the northern part of Mexico. They lived 
by catching fish or game. They knew little or noth- 
ing of tilling 
the soil. They 
did not dwell 
in permanent 
villages, but 
roamed from 
place to place 
like Bedouin 
Arabs. 

The barba- 
rous Indians 
inhabited the 
country east of 
the Rocky 
Mountains. 
They did not depend wholly upon hunting or fishing, 
but knew how to upturn the soil slightly with rude 
tools, and raise squashes, beans, tomatoes, and, most 
important of all, Indian corn. They lived in villages, 
and made houses that would last several years. They 




Ancient Cliff Dwellings. 



6 The Story of A merican History, 

had dogs of an inferior breed, but no other domestic 
animals. Some tribes were able to weave coarse 
cloth and make weapons of polished stones. They 
had strange social customs and singular religious 
beliefs. Fighting was their principal occupation. 

The half-civilized Indians once lived in New Mexico 
and the adjoining region. They have had almost 
nothing to do with the history of the United States. 
They are the Pueblo Indians, so called from the 
pueblos or strongholds, dwellings which they built of 
stones or of sun-dried brick. Some of these strong- 
holds, story above story, would accommodate at least 
three thousand inhabitants ! They were built often- 
times in situations almost inaccessible, like eagles' 
nests on cliffs, apparently that they might be defended 
more easily against the attack of an enemy. 

6. The Northmen and their Discoveries. — The real con- 
tact between the eastern and western halves of the 
world practically began in 1492, the year of the first 
great voyage of Columbus. Occasional visitors may 
have sailed before that date directly across the " Sea 
of Darkness " from the Old World to the New. The 
subject is shrouded for the most part in the mists of 
vague stories and obscure traditions. 

It seems quite certain, however, that in the year 
986 a daring Scandinavian navigator, Eric the Red, 



Ante idea in the Old Day 



/s. 



founded on the southwestern coast of Greenland a 
colony that lasted four or five hundred years. In the 
same year, as the Iceland Sagas (heroic legends) tell 
us, another Norse sailor, voyaging from Iceland to 
Greenland, was driven by storms far out towards the 
southwest, and 
was perhaps the 
first white man 
to behold' the 
American coast. 
Many interest- 
ing ruins of 
s t o n e - b u i 1 1 
houses and of a 
church are still 

to be seen on that desolate Greenland shore, 
those ages the Northmen, or Norsemen, as 
people of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark 




Norse Ruins in Greenland. 



In 

the 

were 



called, were the most skillful sailors in the world. 
Eric the Red had several sons, bold sailors like their 
father. The oldest of these (whose statue stands on 
Commonwealth Avenue, Boston), Leif the Lucky, 
with thirty-five hardy men, sailed south from Green- 
land in the year looo, to explore these lands that had 
been discovered fourteen years before. He landed at 
several points along the coast. In a place which he 




8 The Story of American History, 

called " Vinland the Good " (land of vines), he found 
an abundance of luscious wild grapes. Just where 
this sturdy Norse sailor feasted on the grapes is, of 
course, uncertain, but good authorities are inclined to 
think it may have been not far from Plymouth, on the 
coast of Massachusetts Bay. He returned home in 
the spring. Two years later Leif 's brother, Thorwald, 
I ^^ came on a voy- 

age of discovery, 
but was killed by 
the natives in the 
y I summer of 1004. 

^;^ In the spring 

of the year 1007 
an Icelandic 
chief, accom- 

A Norse Ship. 

panied by his 
wife and a crew of one hundred and sixty men, in 
three vessels, came to this Vinland. He remained here 
three years, and had many dealings with the Indians. 
The Norsemen went home and gave vivid and 
accurate descriptions of the land they visited. They 
described the Indians, the fish, the animals, and the 
plants, all of which are given in the Icelandic chron- 
icles. No real relic, however, of these people has yet 
been found upon our own coast. 



America m the Old Days. 9 

Columbus, who visited Iceland in the year 1477, may- 
have had access to the Icelandic archives, and have 
learned of the discoveries of these rovers of the deep. 
But we have no evidence on that point. After the 
eleventh century America remained as much unknown 
as if the bold Northmen had never steered their dragon- 





Landing of the Norsemen. 

prowed ships along our shores. The waves that inces- 
santly rolled upon its sands or dashed against its rocks 
brought no vessel from the far-away lands of the East. 
Nearly five hundred years were to come and go before, 
in the fullness of time, the hour struck for the real and 
fruitful discovery of the New World. It was left for 
Columbus, the great Genoese navigator, to open wide 
its gates ! 



CHAPTER II. 

COLUMBUS AND THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 

7. Commercial Activity in the Fifteenth Century. — In 
southern Europe, the last half of the fifteenth century 
was a period of great commercial activity. Then, for 
the first time, many voyages of exploration were made 
in various directions, to find new riches, new markets, 
or new routes of travel and transportation. Merchants 
were turning their attention more and more to enter- 
prises in far-off regions beyond the seas. 

Venice and Genoa became rivals for the vast and 
valuable trade of India. With other Italian cities 
they grew rich and powerful. They kept great fleets 
of merchant vessels plying back and forth across the 
Mediterranean. 

They sent out to India large quantities of copper, 
iron, pitch, wool, hides, and the like, and brought back 
cargoes C>f drugs, spices, silks, pearls, and other luxu- 
ries. But the path of this commerce between the 
Mediterranean and India required both ships and car- 
avans ; and whether by way of the Isthmus of Suez 
and the Red Sea, or by Damascus and the Persian 



Cohtmbiis and the Discovery of America. 1 1 

Gulf, or by the Black Sea and the Caspian and 
thence across the eastern plains, the journey was 
long, tedious, costly ; always hazardous, and often, by 
reason of the Turkish wars, positively dangerous. 

And so it became important, especially for the mer- 
chants of Spain and Portugal, the would-be rivals of 
Venice and Genoa, to find a shorter and safer route. 
In many a country, people were asking, " Is there no 
easier way to get to India ? " 

In the attempts to solve this problem Portugal took 
the lead. Her sailors boldly ventured farther and 
farther down the coast of Africa until, about twenty 
years before Columbus discovered America, they 
crossed the equator. But it was not till five years 
after the memorable exploit of Columbus, that Vasco 
da Gama, a Portuguese captain, rounded the Cape of 
Good Hope and crossed the broad Indian Ocean to 
India. Two years later he returned home with his 
vessels full of rich merchandise from that country. 

8. The Shape of the Earth — Spherical or Flat? — The 
learned men of that age, for the most part, believed 
the earth to be round like a ball. But the common 
people, and doubtless many of high rank, thought the 
land surface to be flat, with a flat ocean flowing around 
it on every side. Now if the earth were really a 
sphere, and no larger than was commonly supposed, 



1 2 The Story of A merican History. 

it would seem that the easiest way to get to India, 
unless unforeseen obstacles intervened, would be to 
strike out to the west and sail straight across the 
" Sea of Darkness," as the sailors called the Atlantic. 
To embrace so startling a theory and deliberately to 
risk his life in testing its truth, required a man of keen 
sagacity, of lofty faith, of unbending resolution, and 
of the most heroic daring. Such a man was Chris- 
topher Columbus. 

9. Columbus ; his Early Life as a Sailor. — He was born 
at Genoa, in or about the year 1445. He was 
the son of a poor wool-comber, and while yet very 
young he helped in his father's daily toil. We find 
him a studious boy, early able to write a good hand 
and to draw maps and charts for mariners visiting his 
home. He loves the sea, listens eagerly to old sailors' 
" yarns," weaves their fancies and legends into his day- 
dreams, and is fired with ambition to go in search of 
strange lands. How shall he realize his visions? 
Who will believe in him ? 

At the age of fourteen he becomes a sailor. He 
sails south along the African coast, and north as far 
as England, and even to Iceland. Always observing, 
studying, planning, the ardent, thoughtful boy grows 
up an earnest, thoughtful man. He is convinced that 
the earth is a elobe, and that, if he sails west far 



Cohcmbus and tJie Discovery of Ameinca. 13 

enough, he will reach India by a route shorter than 
any to the east. Nothing can shake his faith in this 
belief. It becomes the inspiration of his life. 

But like that of many learned men of his day, his 
estimate of the distance is widely wrong. He supposes 
it to be only a few thousand miles, requiring but a few 
weeks' sail. Little does he imagine that directly in 
his westward path lies a vast continent, and beyond 
this rolls an ocean far wider than the Atlantic ! 

10. Curious Things from the Unknown West. — To reflect- 
ing minds many facts gave hints of lands in the dis- 
tant west. Curiously carved wood had been washed 
ashore by westerly gales ; far out on the sunset sea an 
old pilot had picked up a quaintly wrought paddle ; 
cane stalks of tropic growth, and huge pines that 
could not have come from the east, had drifted to the 
Azores. It was believed that these articles, strange 
to European eyes, had floated across the broad ocean 
from the eastern coast of Asia. 

Meditating much upon all these and kindred facts, 
and upon the teachings of science, Columbus conceives 
himself to be divinely commissioned to open up this 
new route to India, incidentally discovering unknown 
lands and showing that the earth was round. But this 
stupendous project calls for ships, men, and vast sums 
of money. He is poor, and he has no rich patrons. 



14 The Story of American History. 

11. Columbus seeks Aid from Foreign Governments. — For 
ten years Columbus tried to persuade some Euro- 
pean government to send him on this voyage across 
the Atlantic. First he sought help from his own 
people, the republic of Genoa ; then from Venice, and 
afterwards from Portugal. For seven years he had 
patiently and persistently endeavored to interest Fer- 
dinand and Isabella, the king and queen of Spain, in 
his scheme of a shorter route to India than that which 
their rivals, the Portuguese, were hoping to find by 
sailing down the western coast of the dark continent. 
After years of waiting and seeking, the long-sought 
help at last came. Isabella had faith in Columbus, and 
proved herself a firm friend. She listened patiently 
to his plans ; and she finally decided to fit out an 
expedition at the expense of her own kingdom of 
Castile. 

By the terms of the agreement, Columbus was to be 
admiral of all the oceans he sailed and viceroy of all 
the lands he discovered, and to have one-eighth of 
all the profits of the expedition — the pearls, dia- 
monds, gold, silver, and spices. 

It was hard work to get a crew willing to go on 
this long voyage into the mysterious western seas. It 
was indeed a strange and hazardous project, and pru- 
dent sailors, though stout-hearted, might well shrink 



Columbus and the Discovery of America. 1 5 

from taking the risk. Some, badly in debt, consented 
to ship on condition that their debts should be paid. 
Others, convicted culprits, promising to join the expe- 
dition, were released from jail. 

12. Columbus sails on his Wonderful Voyage. — Fmally, 
in August, 1492, after a delay of several months, three 
vessels with ninety men sailed from Palos, a little 
port of Spain, on the most wonderful voyage the 




Vessels of Columbus crossing the Ocean. 

world has ever seen — the voyage which ended in 
the discovery of the great New World. What a 
heroic venture, — to sail out into an unknown ocean ! 

Every day and every hour took them farther from 
home. Onward and still onward they were sailing, 
across the trackless and boundless deep, with nothing 
in sight but sky and ocean. 

No wonder they became angry with themselves 
for having started upon what seemed so foolhardy an 



1 6 The Story of Americaji History. 

enterprise. When at first the land sank from sight 
on the eastern horizon, many of them lamented their 
sad fate, and cried and sobbed like children. Colum- 
bus, fearing trouble, took the precaution to keep two 
different reckonings as to the distance sailed, a true 
one for himself and a false one for his men. 

To add to their fears, the needle of the compass no 
longer pointed, as usual, a little to the right of the north 
star, but began to sway toward the left. Columbus did 
not know what to make of this variation of the com- 
pass needle, but by giving an ingenious astronomical 
explanation he managed to satisfy his men. 

" This day we sailed westward, which was our 
course," were the simple but grand words which the 
brave commander wrote in his journal day after day. 
The sailors, in despair and rebellion, threatened to 
throw him overboard ; but he stood firm 'in his hope 
and courage, gazing almost incessantly towards the 
ever-receding western horizon. 

13. The Great Problem at last solved. — Many times the 
eager sailors thought they saw land, and many times 
they were disappointed. At last birds began to 
circle around the ships. A bush covered with fresh 
red berries floated by, and a piece of carved wood. 
Presently the birds were seen to fly southward. By 
these signs Columbus felt sure that they were approach- 



Cohtmbiis and the Discovery of America. 17 



ing land. " We shall see land in the morning," he said 
to his men. All was excitement and activity. No 
one could sleep. All waited impatiently for the dawn. 

The day broke, and a beautiful island appeared 
before them. Columbus was the first to step upon 
the beach ; the others 
followed ; all knelt as 
the great discoverer 
kissed the ground and 
gave thanks to God. 
He rose from his knees, 
drew his sword, un- 
furled the great flag of 
Spain, gorgeous with 
its red and gold, and 
in the name of Spain 
he took possession of 
the land, calling it San 
Salvador. From his 
sublime purpose the 
mighty navigator had not swerved a hair's breadth ! 
He had solved the great problem ! He had earned a 
name that should never die ! 

14. The New World and its Strange People ; the Homeward 
Voyage. — The island on which Columbus first landed 
was one of those we now call the West Indies, the 




Columbus's First View of the New 
World. 



1 8 The Story of American History. 

name given by him. The voyagers were wild with 
delight at the new country. They gazed in wonder at 
the rare and lovely flowers, the bright-colored birds 
flashing through the sunlight, the lofty palms, the 
strange trees bearing abundant fruits ; but most of all 
at the singular people, whom of course they called 
Indians. 

Not less were the natives astonished. They thought 
the strange visitors divine beings from the sky, and the 




Columbus sailed Aug. 3d, fi-''^^ 



■.^-se 




Left Canary Islands 

.rV. 



Map of Columbus's Route on his Great Voyage across the Ocean. 

ships unearthly monsters from the deep. Columbus 
found the natives kindly and generous with gifts. 
Maize or Indian corn, potatoes, cotton, and tobacco 
were found ; but neither gold nor diamonds. 

Columbus felt sure that this land was some part 
of Asia. After a stay of twelve weeks he decided to 
sail back to Spain with the news of his great discovery. 
He took with him a number of the natives and a vast 
store of curiosities. On the voyage a terrific storm 



Cohivibiis and the Discovery of America. 19 

raged for four days, and it seemed as if the frail ves- 
sels must be destroyed. The peril being very great, 
Columbus wrote upon parchment two brief accounts 
of his discoveries ; each of these he wrapped in a cloth, 
enclosed it in a large cake of wax, and securely packed 
it in a tight cask. One of these kegs was flung into 
the sea, and the other was lashed to the vessel. 

The two frail vessels, however, rode out the storm 
and at last put into one of the Azores to refit. On 
the homeward way another storm overtook the weary 
voyagers, and Columbus was glad to reach at last a 
port in Portugal. From thence in March, 1493, he 
arrived safe in the harbor of Palos. 

15. Columbus receives a Royal Welcome on his Return. — 
A royal welcome was given Columbus on his return. 
The man who had been laughed at for his strange 
theories, now returning from a newly discovered world 
beyond the sea, was regarded as the greatest of men. 
Ferdinand and Isabella received him with royal pomp 
and asked him to tell them his story. Marvelous it 
must have seemed, and all who heard it must have 
listened with breathless attention. The highest honors 
were bestowed upon him. His discovery of course 
excited intense interest throughout the civilized world. 

But the high honors paid to him aroused the jeal- 
ousy of the courtiers. Once, while sitting as a guest 



20 



The Story of American History. 



of honor at table, one of the courtiers said with a sneer 
that it was not such a great thing after all to discover 
the New World ; any one else could have done it. By 
way of reply Columbus took an ^^g from a dish before 

him, and hand- 
ing it to the 
courtier, asked 
him to make 
it stand on end. 
The man tried 
but could not 
do it. Others 
tried but failed, 
and the ^^^ 
came back to 
Columbus. 
He struck it 
upon the table 
with slight 
force, cracking the shell a little, and then it stood 
upright. 

" Oh, any one could do that,'^ said the courtier. 
"So any one could discover the Indies after I have 
shown the way," was the reply of Columbus. 

16. Columbus sails on Other Voyages across the Atlantic. — 
In spite of the joy among the Spanish people over 




Columbus rebuking the Courtiers. 



Colurnbtis and the Discovery of Afnerica. 21 

the great discovery, there was general disappointment 
that Columbus brought back no gold or precious 
stones. It was believed that another voyage might 
bring better success. Accordingly he soon prepared 
to sail again across the ocean. There was no trouble 
now in obtaining crews ; multitudes wished to go. 

In September, 1493, he started — this time with 
seventeen ships and fifteen hundred men ! He landed 
among the Caribbean Islands. The natives were 
frightened at the horses which were brought over, 
thinking the rider and the steed all one ; they were 
doubly terrified to see the man dismount and the 
strange being come to pieces, making two separate 
animals ! 

Columbus coasted along the south side of Cuba, and 
being sure it was India, tried to find the mouth of the 
Ganges ! Seeing traces of a gold mine that had once 
been worked, he concluded that in that region must 
have been found the gold of Ophir, which had been 
used for Solomon's temple, and that probably the great 
temple itself was not far off ! 

17. Queen Isabella proves a Friend. — After a great 
deal of trouble during his absence of nearly three 
years, Columbus returned home in 1496. Serious dis- 
putes followed his arrival. Much disappointment was 
felt that he had found no gold or diamonds; many 



2 2 The Story of American History. 

denounced " the foreign upstart " as a fraud and a 
tyrant, saying that he cost more than he was worth. 
Jealousy, intrigue, disappointed greed, hatred for fan- 
cied sHghts, every motive to hostihty took shape 
against him. Yet as Isabella was still his friend, and 
as he hoped for better fortune in another trial, he pre- 
pared for a third voyage. In May, 1498, with six ves- 
sels and two hundred men he again set sail. 

On this voyage Columbus touched the mainland of 
South America and passed the mouth of the river Ori- 
noco. The broad flow of the great river, the magnifi- 
cent scenery, and the charming climate delighted him. 
" This must be the river," he said, " that flows through 
the Garden of Eden." 

Meanwhile, many of the Spaniards that had been 
left on the islands rebelled against him. Evil-minded 
officials in Spain sent out a sort of inspector to examine 
into the rebellion. Prompted by malice, he exceeded 
his authority and caused Columbus to be chained as 
a criminal. With stern fortitude the stout-hearted 
mariner endured the cruel irons, and he was thus 
taken back to Spain. The captain of the vessel 
offered to free him from his chains. The brave 
discoverer answered sadly but proudly : " No : I 
will wear them as a memento of the gratitude of 
princes ! " 



Columbus and the Discovery of America. 23 

18. The Fourth and Last Voyage. — His firm friend, 
the queen, justly indignant, received him with tears. 
Then the much-enduring old man broke down, and 
with sobs and weeping threw himself at her feet. 
The great-hearted Isabella encouraged him to go on 
still another expedition. In May, 1502, with four 
vessels and one hundred and fifty men, he sailed on 
his fourth and last voyage. 

He skirted the south side of Cuba, touched at Hon- 
duras, and coasted along the northern shores of South 
America. Many of his men were killed by the Indians, 
his company was short of food, his ships began to leak, 
the vessel on which he sailed was wrecked, and the 
voyage was every way disastrous. In November, 1 504, 
old, feeble, and broken-hearted, Columbus returned to 
Spain. His royal patron and best friend, Isabella, 
was dead. His constitution was shattered by the 
labors and perils he had undergone. His last year 
was passed in sickness and poverty. In 1506 he 
closed his eyes in death. 

19. Columbus and his Mighty Achievement. — After all 
his four eventful voyages, this prince of explorers 
died in the belief that he had reached the eastern 
shores of Asia, and that, too, by the best and most 
direct route. He never imao^ined that he had found 
a new continent. Although self-deceived as to the 



24 The Story of Aineidcan History. 

true nature of his discoveries, he yet well deserved all 
the honors that have crowned his memory. His own 
time was not worthy of him ; but after-ages have paid 
him due and ever-increasing reverence. His name 
will forever be linked with lofty ideas and magnificent 
achievements. 

Columbus was a man of noble and commanding 
presence, tall, and powerfully built. He had long 
waving hair, a fair, ruddy complexion, and keen blue- 
gray eyes that easily kindled and glowed. He inspired 
strong affection and deep respect. He always carried 
himself with an air of authority, as became a man of 
great heart and lofty thoughts. 

Why was this continent not named for Columbus t 
Let me tell you. Because in his life it was not 
known as a new world, and hence had no need of a 
new name. It already had the names India and 
Cathay (China). In 1501 Americus Vespucius, a 
Florentine merchant and a mariner already familiar 
with the western waters, sailed on his third voyage 
far southward along the eastern coast of South Amer- 
ica. The vast size of that country thus became par- 
tially known. He wrote an account of his voyages 
to the " New World," and in his honor it was named 
"America." Gradually this name was applied to the 
northern continent also. 



f! 




Landing of Columbus. 



26 The Story of American History. 

20. The Cabots and their Voyages. — We need not be 
told that these expeditions made a great sensation 
in Europe, and that many bold mariners started out 
from Portugal and Spain. The sovereigns of other 
nations, too, as England and France, soon sent navi- 
gators to make claims for their own countries. 
Among the most notable of these were the Cabots, 
John and his son Sebastian. Though natives of 
Genoa, they lived in England and had entered the 
service of King Henry VII. They had permission 
from him to sail across the Atlantic and to take pos- 
session, in his name, of any lands which were not 
known to Europeans. 

In May, 1497, with one ship and eighteen men, John 
Cabot with his son Sebastian left England. The first 
land he saw is supposed to have been either Cape 
Breton Island or the shores of Labrador. He did 
not remain long on that cold and dismal coast, but 
returned home to England after an absence of about 
three months. John Cabot w^as probably the first 
European since the days of the Northmen to set foot 
upon the mainland of North America. 

On his return he was received with much honor 
by the king. He was called " The Great Admiral," 
and he went about the streets richly dressed in silk, 
followed by a crowd of admirers. The next year 



Columbus and the Discovery of A merica. 2 7 

the Cabots set out upon a second voyage. This took 
a wider range. The exact limits of these explorations 
are not clearly known ; but it is believed that they dis- 
covered the coast of Labrador, sailed along to New- 
foundland, thence probably as far south as Cape Cod, 
and perhaps to Cape Hatteras. Inasmuch as Colum- 
bus never set foot upon the mainland of North America, 
the Cabot discoveries are of importance. It is claimed 
that they gave England a right to the settlement and 
ownership of this northern continent. 

Sebastian lived to be a very old man, and to the 
last was full of enthusiasm about the new^-found world- 
He was known as " The Great Yeoman." It was said 
of him: " He gave England a continent — and no one 
knows his burial place ! " 

21. A Spanish Knight seeks the Fountain of Youth. — A 
singular expedition was that of Ponce de Leon, a 
brave knight w^ho had sailed with Columbus on his 
second voyage. The Spaniards had heard somewhere 
in eastern Asia the old, old legend, of a fountain whose 
water gave perpetual youth to any one who drank of 
it. In 15 1 3 Ponce de Leon sailed from Porto Rico, 
where he had been governor, with three vessels, in 
search of this wonderful " Fountain of Youth." 

On Easter Sunday (which in Spanish is Pascua Flor- 
ida, flowering Easter) he first came within sight of a 



28 The Story of American History. 

coast to which he gave the name Florida, partly in 
honor of the day and partly because it was indeed a 
region of flowers. He took possession of it in the 
name of the King of Spain. Never before had he 
seen so beautiful a region. It seemed the land of 
eternal summer. 

He landed not far from what is now St. Augustine, 
and followed the coast south to its western shore ; but 
he went back disappointed. If he or any one else ever 
saw this spring of magic power, it was only in dreams. 
In 152 1 our romantic knight sailed again in search 
of the hoped-for fountain ; but by reason of a severe 
wound from an Indian arrow he was forced to return 
to Cuba. There he died of his painful injury. 

22. How De Soto sought in Vain for Gold. — Another 
adventurous Spanish knight was Ferdinand de Soto. 
He attempted to explore and conquer the country 
across the waters to the north of Cuba. In 1539, 
with nine vessels and five hundred and seventy men, 
he left Havana. Landing on the eastern coast of 
Florida, De Soto marched north to the Savannah 
River, thence going westward. Dangers beset him 
on every side. Sometimes the natives, who had 
learned to fear and hate the Spaniards, sent poisoned 
arrows flying through the air. Sometimes they pur- 
posely led their greedy foes into swamps in the search 



Coltimbus and the Discovery of America. 29 

for gold. The Spaniards in turn treated the Indians 
with extreme cruelty. 

A number of dreadful battles were fought in which 
De Soto lost many men. Through tangled forests and 




De Soto's First View of the Mississippi River. 



swamps the Spaniards, suffering from hunger and sick- 
ness, plodded on their weary march. De Soto would 
not turn back. He was determined to find gold. The 
proud Spaniard could not endure the thought of 



30 The Story of American History. 

failure. He had promised his followers an abundance 
of treasure, and he resolved to keep that promise. 

At last they reached the banks of a mighty river. 
.Compared with other streams it was like the sea. It 
was the great Mississippi. De Soto w^as probably the 
first white man that ever gazed upon it. Under his 
direction the men built rafts, crossed the " Father of 
Waters," and pushed far on to what is now Arkansas 
and Missouri, in search of the fabled land of gold. 
They never found it. Instead of gems and gold, they 
found hunger, sickness, and death. 

23. Death of De Soto. — At last, a little group ex- 
hausted and emaciated, they turned their steps 
southward and toward the great river again. De 
Soto was broken-hearted. A fever seized him, and 
he soon died. 

The Indians stood in great awe of De Soto. They 
called him a "child of the Sun," and believed he would 
never die. His men therefore wished to conceal the 
fact of their leader's death. They wTapped his dead 
body in a mantle and sank it at night beneath the 
waters of the Mississippi. The wretched remnant of 
his followers managed to build a few^ boats, and in 
these they floated dow^i the stream. A few of them 
at last reached friends to whom they told the story of 
their failure. 



CHAPTER III. 



SIR WALTER RALEIGH AND CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH. 

24. Sir Walter Raleigh : Soldier, Sailor, and Courtier. — 

Not until many years after the voyages of the two 
Cabots did the English begin to make settlements in 
the New World. For more than three-quarters of a 
century no one seemed to 
comprehend the vast im- 
portance of the discoveries 
of those explorers, or to 
dream of the wonderful 
changes that would follow 
during the coming ages. 
But there was at last one 
man in England of high 
rank who foresaw that a 
great nation would some 
time people the realm beyond the Atlantic. That 
man was Sir Walter Raleigh. He was a skillful 
sailor, a daring soldier, an accomplished scholar, an 
elegant poet, a learned historian, a graceful courtier 
— in fact, a prince among men. He became a great 




Sir Walter Raleigh. 



32 The Story of Afnerican History. 

favorite with Queen Elizabeth. He was very rich, 
and when he asked permission to fit out ships and 
estabhsh colonies in America, the queen readily 
granted his request. 

The first two vessels sent out by Raleigh reached 
the coast of North Carolina in 1584. No attempt at 
colonization was then made, and they soon sailed back 
to England. When Queen Elizabeth heard of the 
wonders of the new country — its luscious fruits, its 
" sweete-smelling timber trees," its rich soil, whereon 
the natives seemed to live " after the manner of the 
golden age " — she said : " This place shall be named 
Virginia in honor of me." For the great queen was 
called the " Virgin Queen," and she used to boast 
that she was wedded to her kingdom alone. 

25. First Attempts to colonize Virginia. — Soon after- 
wards Raleigh sent out vessels on a second voyage " to 
plant an English nation in America." It had been 
planned to make a settlement on Roanoke Island ; 
but the Indians were warlike, food was scarce, and 
the colonists instead of planting corn searched for 
gold. After they had nearly died of starvation a ves- 
sel arrived, which carried the homesick men back to 
England. Two years afterwards a third company was 
sent out by Raleigh. This company included men, 
women, and children. These also settled at Roanoke 



Sir Walter Raleigh and Captain John Smith. 33 

Island. There, in August, 1587, was born Virginia 
Dare, the first American child of English parentage. 

This colony also fared hard. The governor sailed 
back to England for supplies, and when he returned 
to America, after being delayed for three years, every 
trace of the colony had disappeared. It was never 
known whether the colonists had gone far away, to 
live with the Indians, or had somehow perished. They 
were never heard of ao:ain. 

26. How Tobacco and Potatoes came into Popular Use. — 
And thus it was that in the first colonizing of this 
country Sir Walter Raleigh had as much to do as any 
other one man. Although his various attempts at set- 
tlements proved failures, yet he opened the way, set 
the example, and made it less difficult for others to 
come to America. 

One of the most wholesome and nutritious of vege- 
tables, the common white potato, had never been seen 
in Europe until some of the Virginia settlers sent to 
Sir Walter as a present several of the " roots," as they 
were called. He showed the poor how easily potatoes 
could be raised. Thus they first came into use as a 
staple article of food. 

The settlers in Virginia soon found that the Indians 
took great comfort in smoking the dried leaves of a 
certain fragrant herb. This was the now well-known 



34 



The Story of A mcricau History. 



tobacco plant. The English colonists tried smoking, 
— and liked it. They sent some of the plant across the 
ocean as a present to Sir Walter. He tried smoking, 
and he also liked it ! 

At first it seemed a strange sight in England to 
see a man smoking. The story is often told that 

as Raleigh was one day 
enjoying his pipe, a ser- 
vant came into the room. 
As the man had never be- 
fore seen any one smoke, 
he was much astonished ; 
he thought his master 
was on fire. He rushed 
out of the room, seized a 
pitcher of water, and run- 
ning back threw it over 
Sir Walter ! 

From that time till now 
tobacco has been most ex- 
tensively used. The settler who raised tobacco could 
buy with it whatever he needed. Large crops of it were 
carried to England and sold. It did much to establish 
the commercial prosperity of the Virginia colony. 

27. Captain John Smith and his Early Career.— In the 
year 1607 there came to Virginia a remarkable man 




Raleigh's Servant interrupts his 
Master's Smoke. 



Sir Walter Raleigh and Captain John Smith. 35 



by the name of John Smith. He plays an important 
part in the early history of that colony. 

This the most famous John Smith that ever lived, 
was born in England in 1580. While yet a boy he was 
fond of wild and daring adventures. When thirteen 
years old he sold his school books and ran away from 
home. When he became 
a young man he went 
to the continent, and for 
two or three years fought 
in the Dutch and French 
armies. 

Once, when Smith was 
a sailor on a ship going 
from Marseilles to Italy, a 
terrible storm arose ; the 

•1 T_ 1* • ij\ t^ \ Captain John Smith. 

sailors, believmg that he -' 

was the cause of their bad luck, threw him over- 
board. But, swimming "with lusty sinews," he 
managed to reach an island near by, and thus his 
life was saved. He was rescued from the -shore and 
was taken on board a French man-of-war. Soon 
afterwards the ship met an enemy, and a battle 
ensued. In that conflict the young English sailor 
fought so hard that the ship's officers gave him a 
share of the plunder of the captured vessel. 




36 The Story of American History. 

28. His Romantic Adventures. — Our bold adventurer 
now went farther east and enlisted in the Austrian 
army to fight against the Turks. In that service 
he soon became well known as a brave and dashing 
fellow, and before long he was made a captain of cav- 
alry. After a battle in which the Austrians were 
defeated, Smith, badly wounded, lay a while among 
the dead. But he was found and cared for. After 
his wounds had healed, he was taken to Constanti- 
nople and sold to the Turks as a slave. A Turkish 
lady showed him great kindness. 

Then he was sent to Russia. There, at a place 
about a mile from the house of his cruel master, he 
was set to threshing grain. One day his owner rode 
up and shamefully abused him. Stung by his inso- 
lence. Smith killed the man with a flail, exchanged his 
own slave garments for his victim's clothes, hid the 
body in the straw, mounted a horse, and started off. 
He traveled over Russia, Austria, France, and Spain, 
and at last, after many stirring adventures, drifted 
back to his old home in England again. 

All these stories and many more Captain John tells 
us in his book of travels. Perhaps they are true, and 
perhaps we may conclude with some other persons 
that Smith was a daring fellow at telling stories as 
well as at fighting Turks ! 



Sir Walter Raleigh and Captain John Smith, t^^j 

29. Captain John begins his Career in the New World.— 
When our adventurer arrived in England, all the talk 
was about the wonderful western world. Although he 
had roamed so widely and had fared so hard, he was 
then less than thirty years old and was ready for new 
adventures. All of his previous life seemed a prepara- 
tion for a career of romance and heroism in the New 
World. So he joined an expedition which sailed for 
Virginia in the early part of 1607. 

On the voyage his superior talents and experience 
were so evident that his comrades became jealous of 
him, and on some pretext caused him to be put in 
chains. They had a long and stormy voyage. It was 
as late as April when they reached Chesapeake Bay. 
They were so glad to leave the stormy ocean and find 
a place of rest that they named the land near their first 
anchorage Point Comfort, a name it still bears. 

They entered between two capes, which they called 
Charles and Henry from the king's two sons. From 
their king, James the First, they named the river up 
which they sailed the James, and they called the vil- 
lage that they built Jamestown. Thus was laid in 
the year 1607 the foundations of the first permanent 
English settlement in the New World. 

30. How Smith managed the Virginia Colonists. — These 
Virginia colonists were not suited to the rough, hard 



38 The Sto7y of American Histo7y. 

work of making a settlement in this new country. 
They had not been accustomed to earn their Hving by 
manual toil. They liked to call themselves "gentle- 
men," as if that title somehow made an excuse for 
shiftless idleness. The real need was for farmers, 
carpenters, blacksmiths, masons — useful mechanics 
and willing laborers. These genteel settlers expected 
to find in this wonderful region plenty of gold ; their 
sole purpose was to get enough of the precious ore, 
and then go back to England and remain there. 

But Captain Smith was the saving spirit of the 
colony. He showed the immigrants the necessity of 
labor, and told them plainly that if they w^ould not 
work they must not expect to eat. He taught them 
to fell trees and build huts. Their voyage had been 
so long, and so much of their provisions had been 
spoiled, that, when they landed, their stock of food 
was almost gone. Something must be done, and that 
soon, or they would starve. 

Then was shown the courage, skill, and good sense 
of an energetic leader. The corn that a few friendly 
Indians brought to the settlers was not enough to feed 
so many. Therefore Smith took some companions, went 
in his boat up and down the rivers, made friends of the 
Indians, and bought from them corn and game, giving 
in payment shiny trinkets, beads, and little mirrors. 



Sir Walter RaleigJi and Captain John Smith. 39 



But the river lands were low and unhealthful ; the 
water was bad ; very many of the settlers became sick ; 
and, before the autumn frosts came, more than half of 
them had died. Smith worked hard to help the sur- 
vivors and to teach 
them to help them- 
selves. Meanwhile, 
in his boat, he made 
long excursions up 
the James and the 
Potomac rivers, hop- 
ing perchance to find 
a way to the South 
Sea, as every one 
then called the Paci- 
fic Ocean. 

31. Captured by the 
Indians. — On one of 
these exploring ex- 
peditions a gang of 
natives attacked 
Smith and killed all 

his men. He seized an Indian and holding him as 
a shield, shot down three of the savages. The place 
being swampy, he suddenly sank to his knees in the 
oozy soil and was captured by the enemy. Then 




Smith explaining the Compass to 
THE Indians. 



40 The Story of A merican History. 

the quick-witted prisoner, taking out his pocket com- 
pass, showed the vibrations and use of the needle, and 
spoke of the sun, moon, and stars. He interested his 
captors so deeply that they were sure he must be a 
supernatural being from some far-off world. They 
were afraid to kill him. 

He persuaded them to send to the colony a piece 
of paper on which he had written. The result sur- 
prised them all the more ! This strange being could 
make paper talk ! 

32. How Pocahontas saved Captain John's Life. — At 
last Captain John was sent to the great chief Pow- 
hatan, and by him was held captive during several 
weeks. These Indians, too, he amused with his com- 
pass and his writing ; but after a while they grew tired 
of him, and Powhatan concluded to kill him. 

So one day they gathered around the victim ; he 
was stretched on the ground, his head was placed on a 
stone, and all was ready. A savage was just raising 
his club for the fatal blow, when forth rushed the 
bright young Pocahontas, the pet daughter of the old 
chief. Throwing her arms around Smith's neck, she 
turned her face to her father and begged him to spare 
the captive's life. " Kill me',' she cried ; " kill me ; you 
shall not kill him J " It seems that Smith had been 
improving his time in making whistles and rattles and 



Sir Walter Raleigh and Captain Jolui Smith. 4 1 

strings of beads and shells for the Indian girl, and so 
had won her affection; and she in return saved his 
life ! Indian chiefs do not often indulge in pity; but 
for the sake of his beloved daughter Powhatan released 
Smith and soon after let him go back to Jamestown. 
Such is the story of his romantic rescue as Captain 
John told it years afterwards. While there is nothing- 
improbable about it, yet some people believe that he 
invented the story to magnify his own importance. 

33. The Romantic Story of Pocahontas. — Pocahontas 
was at this time only about twelve years of age. 
Ever afterward she continued to be very friendly to 
the colonists, and often visited them at Jamestown, 
sometimes bringing baskets of corn to the hungry 
white men. Once the faithful girl came stealthily by 
night long miles through the dark forests to inform 
Smith of an Indian plot to murder all the whites. 

As Pocahontas grew up, one of the young English- 
men, John Rolfe, became much attached to her. He 
said he had had a marvelous vision telling him that he 
ought to make her a Christian and marry her. That 
was nothing so very wonderful, for then as now tender- 
hearted youths often dreamed at night of what they 
were thinking of by day. In 161 3, in the rude little 
church at Jamestown, Pocahontas gave up her Indian 
religion, accepted the Christian faith, and was baptized. 



42 The Story of American History. 

She took the name Rebecca. The next year she was 
married to Rolfe. This romantic marriage was very 
fortunate for the colony, for it made her father, 
Powhatan, a warm friend to the feeble settlers, who 
at this time were in sore need of help. 

34. The Indian Princess receives a Warm Welcome in 
London. — Three years afterwards the fair Indian girl, 
" Lady Rebecca," went with her husband to England, 
where of course she attracted a great deal of attention. 
The people came in crowds to see her. They cheered 
as she rode through the streets of London. 

Pocahontas became a great favorite with the nobil- 
ity, and was even received at court by the queen. But, 
for all that, she soon became homesick. Even amid 
the splendid novelties of London life, she longed to 
be once more among the noble forests and the lovely 
wild flowers of her old Virginia home. It was in the 
year 1617 that she prepared, with many pleasing antici- 
pations, to return to the scenes of her childhood. But 
she suddenly sickened and, after a brief illness, died. 
She was only twenty-two years old. She left an infant 
son who came eventually to Virginia, and there grew 
to a worthy manhood. Many excellent families of Vir- 
ginia are today proud to claim him as their ancestor. 

35. The Troubles of the Colonists increase. — When Cap- 
tain Smith, after his romantic rescue, returned to 



Sir Walter Raleigh and Captain John Smith. 43 

the colonists, he found them in a pitiful condition. 
During his absence the prospect had become in every 
way gloomy. Hunger and sickness had reduced their 
number from over a hundred men to only forty, and 
these were planning to go back to England. 

At this distressing time another vessel arrived from 
England bringing one hundred and twenty immi- 
grants. This event brightened the darkly drooping 
spirits of the colonists. But the sunshine did not last 
long. These newcomers, like the old, were mostly 
idlers and " vagabond gentlemen," as the settlers called 
them. " We did not come here to work," they said. 
" Then you shall not eat," said the brusque leader. 
He w^as as good as his word. They soon found they 
must work or starve. 

36. The Greed of the Colonists for Gold. — One trouble 
that annoyed Captain Smith very much was this : the 
English people kept urging the colonists to send home 
gold. Those that arrived later, like those that came 
before, had no idea of working for a living, but only 
the hope of shoveling up gold to carry away. 

They were so ignorant of minerals that, finding in 
the soil small yellow scales of shining mica, they 
sent home bushels and bushels of it, believing it to be 
gold. Another group of men supposed the little glit- 
tering crystals of iron ore wxre really gold, and they 



44 The Story of A^ner lean History. 

spent weeks in collecting the worthless stuff to send 
to England. No wonder Captain Smith, although the 
leader of the colony, had hard work to manage and 
feed men who would far rather dig " fool's gold " than 
raise corn. 

37. The Starving Time in Virginia. — All this happened 
while Smith was using the utmost wisdom and skill 
to guide the colony for the best. On one unhappy 
day a bag of gunpowder exploded near him, burning 
him so badly that he had to return to England for 
surgical treatment. This was in September, 1609. 
After he had gone, the colonists fell into still greater 
trouble, and the " starving time " followed. The people 
were compelled to eat dogs, rats, snakes, and toads ; 
many died of starvation ; four hundred and ninety men 
were reduced to sixty ; but, by the fortunate arrival 
of more vessels, help finally came. 

Within the next few years the colony was set upon 
its feet, and the foundations laid of a prosperous 
commonwealth. An energetic governor, Sir Thomas 
Dale, made the idlers till the ground and promptly 
hanged the criminals. The soil was found the 
best in the world for growing tobacco. Hundreds 
of skilled farmers came over to Virginia to make 
their fortunes by the cultivation of this fragrant 
weed. 



Sir Walter Raleigh and Captain John Smith. 45 

38. Further Explorations along the Coast. — Having at 
length recovered from his wound, Smith scorned to 
remain idle, and became anxious to undertake another 
maritime enterprise. There was at that time a great 
deal of excitement in England about North Virginia, 
then so called. In 16 14 he sailed again with two ves- 
sels on a voyage of discovery in that region. 

He touched first the shores of Maine, the nooks 
and corners of which he explored ; he then sailed 
along the ocean fringe from Penobscot Bay to Cape 
Cod. He examined the coast carefully, entered the 
bays and rivers, and named a number of prominent 
islands and capes. He sailed around Cape Ann. To 
the three islands off the end of the cape he gave the 
queer name of Three Turks' Heads. He prepared 
very carefully a map of the whole country, as far as 
he had seen it, and he called it New England. 

On his return to England Smith presented his map 
to the king's son, Prince Charles, who confirmed the 
name that had been given to it. Next year he started 
out again. His object was to found a colony in New 
England, a region of which he had great hopes. But 
his vessel was captured by a French man-of-war, and 
he was taken to France. With a return of good for- 
tune this hero of surprising deeds escaped, and finally 
got back safely to England. 



46 The Story of American History. 

39. His Last Days ; the '* Father of Virginia."— Our bold 
explorer now gave up all plans of founding another 
colony in America. But he lived to know and rejoice 
in the success of the Pilgrims and the Puritans in 
Massachusetts. He wrote several books describing 
his travels and his wonderful adventures. 

He had shown himself vigorous, quick-witted, far- 
seeing. He had been the ruling spirit and the pre- 
server of the Virginia colony. In fact, he has often 
and justly been called the " Father of Virginia." His 
strong hand had also opened wide the door of New 
England. 

We must think of Captain John Smith as the hero 
of the first struggle of English civilization with the 
wilderness of America. Wherever he was, his genius 
and resolute will had made him a leader. There was 
never a braver man. After a life full of romantic 
adventures and daring exploits, he died in London in 
1 63 1 at the age of fifty- two. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE STORY OF THE PILGRIMS. 

40. The Old-Time Idea about Kings. — We shall do well 
to remember that in England, about three hundred 
years ago, the sovereign's will commonly had the force 
of law. Many people really thought there was such 
sacredness about a royal ruler that whatever he com- 
manded must be right, whatever he forbade must be 
wrong. Indeed, there was a proverb, " The king can 
do no wrong." He had his own kind of church and 
his own mode of worship. Everybody must attend 
that sort of church and practise that form of worship, 
or be punished. 

41. Sturdy Englishmen dare to disobey the King. — But 
there were, after all, many honest, sturdy people in 
England who did not accept this notion about the 
king. They did not like his style of religion, and 
they would not pretend to like it. Besides, they felt 
that they had a right to meet quietly by themselves, 
publicly in their own churches, or privately in their 
own homes, and worship in their own way. 

But these people were regarded with suspicion, 

47 



48 The Story of Americmi History. 

Presently a number of them were seized and thrown 
into loathsome jails ; not a few were heavily fined or 
made to suffer bodily harm ; some died on the gal- 
lows ; and all this because, in spiritual affairs, they 
had dared to disobey the monarch. 

42. The Pilgrims seek a Home in Holland; the First 
Attempt a Failure. — Those who were brave enough 
to oppose the king's despotism in religious matters 
were at first styled Separatists, because they separated 
from the " established church." Afterwards some of 
them came to be called familiarly Pilgrims, because 
they wandered from place to place on the way "to 
heaven, their dearest country," as they said. They 
longed to go where they could be free to worship 
God as they pleased. 

At last a company of them hired a vessel to 
take them just across the North Sea to Holland. 
They chose Holland, because in that coimtry all 
people were allowed to worship as they thought 
best. 

But just before the hour at which they had intended 
to embark, watchful officers found them, seized most 
of their money and goods, dragged them back, and 
put them in prison. It was indeed a pretty hard lot, 
punished if they stayed in the country, and punished 
if they tried to get away ! 



The Story of the Pilgrims. 



49 



43. The Second Attempt Successful. — The next year 
the Pilgrims again tried to leave their native land. 
This time they succeeded. Taking their wives and 
little ones, these resolute men, led by their pastor, the 
good John Robinson, went as strangers and pilgrims 
to Holland. From time to time the same refu2:e was 
sought by other persecuted people, till many hundreds 
had settled in the old city of Leyden. 
Here they first exercised that free- 
dom of faith which had been denied 
them in the land of their birth, and 
now they first experienced the delight 
of holding their religious meetings 
without fear. 

They were so industrious and 
honest that their Dutch neighbors 
took very kindly to them. 

But when they had lived in Hol- 
land about twelve years, they decided 
to remain no longer. Their children were learning 
the Dutch language, and they themselves were slowly 
becoming foreigners. They were not pleased with 
such results, for they still regarded themselves as 
Englishmen, still loved the English people, the 
English ways of living, and the glorious memories 
of their mother country. 




A Pilgrim Colonist. 



50 The Story of Americajt History, 

About this time people were beginning to go to the 
New World beyond the ocean, and these Pilgrims 
made up their minds to leave Holland and seek a 
dwelling place in far-off America. 

There were then about a thousand of them living 
in Holland. Nearly a hundred of the young and 
strong were selected to go in advance and make a 
beginning in the New World. They managed to 
charter for this purpose two small vessels, the Speed- 
well and the Mayflower. In July, 1620, the Speed- 
well sailed from Delftshaven ; the Mayflower was 
chartered to sail from an English port. 

A very pathetic parting it was for these poor exiles 
upon the shore of Holland, clasping their friends' 
hands for the last time, and looking upon the dear 
faces they were to see no more. With their beloved 
minister. Elder John Robinson, they knelt upon the 
sand while he prayed earnestly for God's blessing upon 
their perilous undertaking. The Pilgrims stopped at 
Plymouth, England, on the way, and as the Speedwell 
seemed to be unseaworthy, they all, with others of the 
same faith who joined the company there, went on board 
the Mayflower. In this one vessel, after many delays, 
the one hundred and two people that finally made up 
the Pilgrim company sailed from Plymouth in Septem- 
ber, 1620, on their long and dangerous voyage. 



The Story of the Pilgrims. 5 1 

44. The Pilgrims' Voyage across the Stormy Atlantic. — 
Crowded upon their little craft, this devoted company 
of men, women, and children had a dreary and anxious 
voyage of nine weeks. During severe weather the 
seas sometimes ran so high that for days the May- 
flow^er was driven at the mercy of wand and waves, 
while all of the company, except the sailors, were 
compelled to remain, shivering and seasick, below 
the deck. In the foul air were bred the germs of 
quick consumption, the disease which carried off so 
many of this " Pilgrim band " during their first winter 
on the wild New England shore. 

45. An Incident of the Voyage. — During one of these 
storms a lively young man named Rowland fell over- 
board and would have been lost had he not seized a 
rope which was trailing in the sea. Bradford quaintly 
says in his journal that the young fellow "was sundry 
fathoms under water," but that he held on until " he 
was hauled up by the same rope to the brim of the 
water," and wdth the aid of a boat-hook was at last 
safely landed on deck. Howland was none the worse 
for his cold bath. He lived to sign the compact at 
Cape Cod, and became a most useful citizen of the new 
commonwealth, and the ancestor of many families. 

46. Arrival on the Bleak New England Coast. — How 
often, in the last days of that dismal voyage, did the 



52 The Story of American History, 

Pilgrims gaze far into the west, always hopeful, but 
no doubt sometimes dreading the future ! As the 
weeks passed by, the weather became very cold, and 
they had scanty means for warming their cabin. 
When they neared the coast a driving storm com- 
pelled them to change their course, so that instead 
of going up the Hudson River as they had intended, 
they were forced into Massachusetts Bay, as it is now 
called, and along the icy shores of Cape Cod. 

All the coast was white with snow, and the future 
looked cheerless and dark. There were no light- 
houses to warn them of dangerous shoals, no life- 
saving men patrolling the beach to help shipwrecked 
mariners. No one stood on the barren sandy shore 
to welcome them ; they felt that they were indeed 
strangers in a strange land. 

47. They sign a Compact in the Mayflower's Cabin. - — In- 
side the curved point of Cape Cod, in a small bay 
which is now the harbor of Provincetown, the May- 
flower first dropped anchor. While there, John Car- 
ver and William Bradford wrote a formal agreement 
for the government of the company, and all of the 
forty-one men signed it. 

This compact was drawn up and signed on a chest 
belonging to Elder Brewster, which afterwards served 
as a table in his family. During the first winter, 



The Story of the Pilgrims. 



53 



when food was very scarce and the Pilgrims were 
obHged to Hve ahiiost entirely upon clams, the good 
Elder never failed to ask a blessing upon their scanty 
meals, and to thank 
God, "who had yet 
given them of the 
treasures hid in the 
sand." 

By the compact it 
was agreed that all 
were to have equal 
rights. They 
pledged themselves 
to help and to defend 
each other, and to 
obey such laws as they might make for the good of 
the colony. They then chose John Carver for their 
first governor. 

48. They explore the Cape Cod Shore under the Lead of 
Captain Miles Standish. — A small party soon landed 
and tramped along for miles looking for a suitable 
place to make a home. They could nowhere find 
good drinking water. For three or four weeks the 
Mayflower with its precious cargo sailed along the 
inner coast, trying to find a safe and inviting harbor. 
Small parties often went ashore to explore the country. 




Pilgrim Elder asking a Blessing. 



54 The Story of A^nerican History. 

One day a company of sixteen, led by Captain 
Standish, went ashore to spend a number of days 
exploring a little way inland. This Captain Stand- 
ish, although one of the company, was not really a 
Pilgrim in his way of living, nor in his religious 
views. His business was that of a soldier, an employ- 
ment more common then than now. He had met 
some of the Pilgrims in Holland and was much 
pleased with their simple habits and honest ways. 
When they were preparing to sail to the New World, 
he thought it likely that they would need a soldier 
to show them how to fight. So he came with them, 
and they soon were glad to have just such a man. 
It was indeed well he did come, for he was often the 
most useful member of the whole colony. 

While the Mayflower lay at anchor in Province- 
town harbor, and the explorers were searching for a 
landing-place, a baby boy — the first New England 
child of English parentage — was born on board of 
the vessel. They gave him the quaint name of Pere- 
grine. At Plymouth you may still, see the cradle in 
which little Peregrine White was rocked. 

49. Their Travels along the Shore of Cape Cod Bay, and 
what they find. — They discovered the remains of a hut 
which seemed to have been recently occupied. So 
they surmised that Indians were living somewhere 



I 



The Story of the Pilgri 



ms. 



55 



in the vicinity. They came upon some piles of 
roasted acorns, and the next day they caught a 
ghmpse of a few savages and a deer. Soon after- 
wards they saw a dog and more Indians. " The wild 
men ran away and whistled the doggie after them." 
One day they discovered two or three mounds of 
earth. One of these contained rude mats and an 
earthen dish. They dug into other mounds and 
unearthed the skele- 
tons of a grown per- 
son and a child, a 
box containing In- 
dian bows and ar- 
rows and spears with 
flint points. 

50. They find Baskets 
of Indian Corn. — In 
another place they 
noticed heaps of sand freshly smoothed over. On 
scraping away the earth, what should they find 
but Indian baskets full of corn ! They had never 
seen any such grain. They were delighted with 
the sight of the bright-colored kernels, some red, 
some yellow, and others blue. The baskets were 
round, narrow at the top, and contained about three 
bushels each. They carried to the vessel all the 




The Miles Standish House. 



56 



The Story of American History. 



corn they found, for they were in sore need of food ; 
l)ut they were careful to save enough for seed in the 

spring. They 
were honest 
men, and when 
long afterwards 
they found the 
Indians who 
had buried the 
corn, they paid 
them a fair 
price for it. 

One day 
these Pilgrim 
wanderers shot 
three fat geese 
and six ducks. 
These they ate 
with wonderful 
relish, or " with 
soldier stom- 
achs," as their 
story says. At 
another time, as they were tramping through the 
woods, William Bradford, not very careful, per- 
haps, as to where he was stepping, suddenly found 




Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. 



The Story of the Pilgrims. 5 7 

his foot entangled in a queer way. When his com- 
panions came to help him out, they found he had 
been caught in a deer trap set by the Indians ! 

51. First Attack by Indians. — One morning, just after 
their night's sleep by a camp fire, and while engaged 
in their prayers, the weary men were startled by a 
wild cry, very different from anything they had ever 
heard. For a moment even Captain Standish was 
alarmed. It was an Indian war-whoop; and the cry 
w^as followed by Indian arrows. Standish and his 
men now fired their guns at the Indians. The firing 
caused the savages to run away in great astonish- 
ment. They had never known of guns, and were 
greatly afraid of these strangers who could instantly 
make thunder and lightning. The Pilgrims had 
never before been targets for arrows, so they kept 
these strange weapons, which were pointed with 
eagles' claws or sharp pieces of deer's horn, as 
curiosities. 

52. The Search for a Home. — The Pilgrims were very 
anxious to get settled as soon as possible ; yet when 
Sunday came they stopped all work and spent the 
day in reading the Bible, in singing their hymns, and 
in prayer. For nearly a month they sought, with 
much weariness and in bitter cold, a place suitable 
for settlement. It must have been a cruel and pitiful 



58 



The Stoi^y of Arnericaii History. 



work for those poor men. They waded knee-deep in 
the snow; slept unprotected under the wintry sky; 
often suffered from hunger; and, for fear of Indians, 
were always compelled to keep anxious watch. 

After a tedious search along the shore of what is now 
Massachusetts Bay, these stout-hearted wan- 
derers at last found a sheltered place where, 

not far from the 
shore, there was 
an abundant 
spring of good 
water. Near by 
were some old 
cornfields that 
h ad for m e r 1 )^ 
been used by the 
Indians. Here 
they decided to 
land. The w^ater 
being shallow, 
the vessel was 
anchored nearly 
a mile from the beach. The Pilgrims were brought 
in their boat, a few at a time, from the vessel to the 
landing-place. To reach the shore, it is said that 
they found it convenient to step upon a large stone. 




First Attack by the Indians. 



The Story of the Pilgiams. 



59 



This is now known as Plymouth Rock. It is claimed 
that the first English w^oman to set foot upon this 
stone on the Plymouth shore was Mary Chilton. 

53. The Famous Plymouth Rock. — Plymouth Rock is 
not very large ; but it is 
sacred in the eyes and the 
hearts of every American. 
Every year thousands go 
to look upon " the step- 
ping-stone of New Eng- 
land " ; to linger by the 
graves of the Pilgrims ; 
and to see in Pilgrim 
Hall the many curious 
interesting things which 
once belonged to those 
pioneers of western 
civilization. 

From the name of the last town they had left in 
England, the Pilgrims named this, the first spot in 
Massachusetts settled by white men, New Plymouth. 
The date of the landing was December 21, 1620, and 
its anniversary is now celebrated as " Forefathers' 
Day." 




Canopy over Plymouth Rock. 



CHAPTER V. 

MORE ABOUT THE PILGRIMS. 

54. The Hardships caused by the Winter Season. — We 

may think it unfortunate, and so indeed it was, that 
the Pilgrims had not come to this country in the 
spring or summer. They would have had a much 
pleasanter voyage, and on their arrival might have 
found the forests green, the birds singing in the 
trees, and the ground adorned with flowers. If they 
could have come in April or May they would prob- 
ably have had warm, pleasant weather for landing 
or exploring, and could have built their houses at 
their leisure. They could have planted their fields 
as soon as they landed, and in a few months could 
have gathered sufficient crops for their support. 

55. The Toil and Perils of the First Winter. — As it was, 

our Pilgrim fathers found the landing very tedious. 

In a single small boat they had to come and go, and 

bring all their provisions and household goods. Some 

of these very articles of furniture, such as Governor 

Carver's armchair, old spinning wheels, odd-looking 

seats and chests, and the big iron kettles in which 

60 



More about tJie Pilgrims, 6 1 

they boiled their dinners, and also Captain Miles 
Standish's sword, we can see at Plymouth to-day. 

While the men were moving the goods, and until 
rude structures had been prepared for their shelter 
on shore, the women and children remained on the 
Mayflower. Of course the best houses that could 
be made were very rude affairs. In fact, rough 
though they were, it was a hard task to build them 
at all; for hardly one of the company was really fit 
for such work. 

Many times the weary men were forced to wade 
in deep snow. When they ran their loaded boat on 
the sandy beach, they often had to leap into the cold 
water up to their waists to pull it ashore. More than 
once they were obliged to be out all day in a furious 
storm of rain and sleet, which froze on their clothes 
till every man wore a covering of ice. 

56. Suffering, Sickness, and Death make Sad Havoc. — 
Thus it came about that the Pilgrims suffered severely 
from exhaustion and disease. There were soon only 
a few men well enough to chop down the trees for 
their houses. Without beasts of burden, the tired 
workers themselves had to drag the logs as best they 
could, and then with slow and painful toil hew them 
to the right size and shape and put them in their 
proper places. 



62 



The Story of American History. 



Through that long and tiresome winter nearly all 
sickened, and many died. Before spring one-half of 

those who had 
landed from the 
Mayflower were 
gone. That the 
Indians might not 
know how terribly 
the numbers had 
been diminished 
])y death, the bod- 
ies were buried 
secretly ; and the 
graves were marked 
by no mounds nor 
stones, but were 
made level with 
the surrounding 
soil. 

The wonder is 
that these Pil- 
grims, ill, hungry, 
and cold, did not become discouraged, give up their 
enterprise, and go back to England in the Mayflower. 
Splendidly courageous indeed they were to pursue 
their purpose so bravely. Weeks and months they 




Samoset's First Visit to the Pilgrims. 



More about the Pilgrims. 63 

worked and suffered, but they never flinched. They 
were content and even happy in the consciousness of 
freedom gained and duty done. They had come to 
stay — and they stayed. 

At last the dreary winter wore away. Spring came, 
bringing the soft south winds and the songs of birds. 
Busy hands were soon planting and cultivating. The 
hearts of the Pilgrims were filled with hope. 

57. A Kindly Visit from the Indians. — One day in 
early spring they were surprised at seeing an Indian 
march boldly into their settlement, saying, " Welcome, 
English ! Welcome, English ! " His name was Samo- 
set. He had learned a little English from fishermen 
on the coast of Maine. The settlers received him 
very kindly. After several hours he went away. 

In a few days he came back with another Indian 
named Squanto, who had once lived in Plymouth 
but had been kidnapped and carried to England. 
Squanto said that Massasoit, the chief of the tribes 
in the neighborhood, was near by, and that with 
sixty of his men he would shortly pay a visit to the 
Pilgrims. The Indian chief soon appeared and was 
cordially received. He promised to be a good friend 
to the English, and in return the settlers agreed to 
treat the Indians kindly. For over fifty years this 
promise was sacredly kept. 



64 The Story of American History, 

Squanto made himself very useful to the Pilgrims. 
He showed them how to plant maize by first manur- 
ing the ground with fish, then putting the kernels 
and the alewives together in the hill. The grain 
now first received the name of Indian corn. He also 
taught the settlers how to catch eels by treading them 
out of the mud with their feet. Shortly afterwards 
Squanto came to live with the Pilgrims, and proved 
himself their firm friend. 

Sometimes other Indians were hostile. Once a chief 
named Canonicus, who was an enemy of Massasoit 
and did not like the Pilgrims, sent to Governor Brad- 
ford a bundle of arrows wrapped in the skin of a 
rattlesnake. He meant this to be a threat of war. 
The resolute governor threw the arrows on the 
ground, filled the snake's skin with powder and 
bullets, and sent it back to the chief! Canonicus 
was quick-witted enough to take the hint, and there- 
after he let the Pilgrims alone. 

58. First Houses built in the New Home. — The first 
building the Pilgrims put up was a log house twenty 
feet square, in which they stowed away their scanty 
provisions, furniture, guns, and powder. They slept 
there till houses were built for separate families. This 
storehouse also served as a kind of fort till they 
had put up a better one on top of the high hill, now 



More about the Pilgrims. 65 

known as " Burial Hill," close by. As they had no 
shingles nor boards, they used for a covering of the 
roof long grass and seaweed. The chimneys they 
made mainly of big stones ; the upper part, however, 
consisted of large sticks plastered over with clay. 

The dirt floor was soon trodden hard and smooth. 
The large cracks between the logs of the walls were 
filled with a kind of mortar made of mud and grass. 
In those days glass was very costly, and so for win- 
dows oiled paper was used. 

After the storehouse was sufficiently advanced, the 
settlers began to work on other houses. They laid 
out a street which they called Leyden Street, and 
built their houses on each side of it. The same street 
with the same name is in Plymouth to-day. The 
whole colony was divided into family groups, each 
unmarried young man choosing a family to live with, 
and each group having its own dwelling. 

59. Perils and Mishaps of the First Winter. — Even 
before the houses were finished, the men built a high 
picket fence around the whole settlement, with a stout, 
gate on each side ; for they were in constant fear of 
the Indians. In fact, they had to keep a sharp look- 
out every day, and a guard watched every night to 
give the alarm in case of danger. So watchful were 
they that, whether chopping wood, eating dinner, or 



66 The Story of American History. 

at meeting on Sunday, every man had his gun close at 
hand, ready for instant use. 

One day, soon after the storehouse was finished, it 
liappened that Governor Carver and Wilham Bradford 
were both within, sick in bed. Suddenly the dry thatch 
caught fire from the chimney sparks, and the whole 
roof went up in a blaze. The sick men were lifted out 
safely. No serious damage was done to anything but 
the roof, and that was soon replaced by a new one. 

60. How the First Log Houses were built. — If we could 
have made a visit to one of the rough log houses of 
the Pilgrims after they had brought in their scanty 
furniture from the vessel, and when affairs had become 
a little settled, many things would have seemed strange 
to us. 

There is no front entry to the house, for there is 
only one rough door, and that opens directly into the 
house ; no parlor, no bedroom, no kitchen, but all in 
one, with perhaps a loft overhead. The inside walls 
are like the outside, rough, but plastered between the 
logs. The roof is made of timbers, for there is no 
sawmill for sawing logs into boards. The timbers 
do not fit closely, and although there is a covering of 
thatch, the snow blows in quite freely. 

61. A Peep into a Pilgrim's House. — Let us take a 
glimpse into one of these Pilgrim houses. The huge 



More about the Pilgrims. 



67 



fireplace, made of rough stones laid in clay, fills nearly 
one whole side of the house. The men bring in great 
logs of wood for the fire. Even when the logs are on 
the fire there is room for a person to sit on a stool at 
each end of the logs, and yet be inside of tlie fireplace. 
This is the children's favorite 
seat. 

The chimney has a big 
throat, as large as a hogs- 
head. One can sit at the 
end of the logs and look up 
and see the sky. The sides 
of the chimney are roughly 
laid, and the big stones pro- 
ject so far into the room 
that the children use them 
as a staircase in climbing up to their bed in the loft. 

In those days nobody had ever heard of a stove. 
All the cooking of the family was done over a huge fire 
or in front of it. They used the iron pots and skillets 
they had brought from England, some of which are 
still preserved at Plymouth. If they had the good 
luck to shoot a wild goose or turkey, they thrust a 
long iron rod through it and roasted it above or before 
the fire, giving it a turn now and then ; or else they 
huno^ it verv near the fire with a stout stringy, turning 




A Settler's Log Cabin. 



68 The Story of A fnerican History. 

it around at times. The wintry winds often dashed in 
strong gusts down the big chimney, making it freezing 
cold all through the house. 

62. The Scant Furnishings of their Homes. — There were 
few or no chairs, but here and there a stool, or some 
solid blocks cut from the trees. In one corner, on a 
rude shelf resting upon two wooden pins driven into 
the log, were a few books, — always a Bible, a hymn 
book, the Psalms, and possibly a few others. 

Hanging from a beam was a little iron cup, in which 
there was some fish oil, with a twisted rag or a bit of 
wick; this contrivance served for a lamp when needed. 
But the big fire usually answered for an evening lamp. 

On one side of the room was a rough cupboard or 
case of shelves for their few dishes. They had no 
nice glass or china with which to make a display. 
The glass they had was coarse and of a brownish tint. 
The early settlers often used leather bottles, leather 
cups, and rough plates called trenchers, chipped from 
blocks of wood. Often two persons ate out of one 
trencher. At this time forks were not in general use. 
The Pilgrims cut their food with knives and then 
managed it with their fingers. 

Their few pewter dishes they were very proud of, 
and they kept them in sight in the cupboard, bright 
with frequent scouring; for the Pilgrim w^omen were 



More about the Pilgrims. 



69 



excellent housewives, and everything about the house 
was scrupulously neat and clean. 

63. Other Articles of Household Furniture. — Around the 
log cabin were two or three big chests, in which each 
family brought over its goods. These were used to 
keep their better clothing in, if they had any, and for 




Pilgrims going to Church. 

seats. In the corner was a spinning wheel to spin the 
wool for their clothing. On these large wheels the 
mothers and daughters used to spin great piles of 
wool and flax. Two or three of the houses had large 
looms — machines on which the thread they spun w^as 
woven into stout cloth for the family. 

We should have seen no timepiece in their living 
rooms. There w^as neither clock nor watch in the 



70 The Story of American History. 

whole settlement. On sunny days the women knew 
when to have dinner ready by the noon mark, as it 
was called — a notch cut on some beam near the 
window, showing just where the line betwixt sunshine 
and shadow came at twelve o'clock. 

In the corner of the log house was the gun, close 
to the door, where it would be ready for use at any 
moment. 

Although the family slept in the one big room, we 
should not have seen any bed in the daytime. It 
was turned up against the w^all, and fastened to the 
side of the cabin. At night it was turned down and 
nearly filled the room. None of the beds were very 
soft, for they were filled with hay or leaves. By and 
by, after they had shot enough wild fowl, they had 
feather beds. 

64. Around the Dinner Table. — When the little family 
gathered around the table for dinner, there was before 
them neither an abundance nor a variety of food. 
There was no milk, butter, nor cheese; for there was 
no cow in the colony. It was four years before a cow 
was brought over from England. They had no eggs, 
no beef nor pork nor lamb, and of course no vegetables 
yet, nor any nice white bread. The provisions they 
brought in the ship were partly spoiled, and were nearly 
used up. So they had to get food as best they could. 



More about the Pilgrhns. 71 

Now and then the colonists killed some game, but 
they had to be careful and not waste their powder and 
shot. One day they shot and cooked an eagle ; but, 
as Bradford wrote in his journal, it was " woefully 
tough." They could not often shoot a bear or a deer. 
They obtained some corn of the Indians by trading 
such trifles as they could best spare. The records tell 
us that once a Pilgrim bartered a little dog for a peck 
of corn. 

65. The Daily Fare becomes scant ; Hardships increased 
by Hunger. — By , and by all the other food failed, so 
that their main article of diet was corn. This they 
made into meal by pounding it on smooth stones. 
But even this supply from the Indians was often 
scanty and uncertain, so that at times they were with- 
out it until, after a year or two, they raised their own 
crops. 

The rest of their provisions they obtained from the 
ocean — clams, lobsters, and various kinds of fish. 
But their fishing boat was so frail and their hooks 
and nets were so poor that this source many times 
disappointed them. 

Thus, the two articles on which they chiefly depended 
being Indian corn and sea-food, they were sometimes 
entirely destitute, unable to obtain either. 

What a condition ! *' I have seen men," wrote one 



72 



The Story of A merican History. 



of the Pilgrims, " stagger by reason of faintness for want 
of food; they knew not at night w^here to have a bit in 
the morning." They were so badly off that if it were 
possible for a friend to visit them, the best they could 
offer him would be a piece of fish and some water! 




Pilgrims watching the Return of the Mayflower. 



Such was the daily living of the first Pilgrim settlers 
in this country. Such were a few of the hardships 
they bravely and patiently endured. And yet, strange 
to say, when the Mayflower sailed for home in the 
early spring, as we have before stated, not one of 
these stout-hearted men and women returned in her 
to England. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE INDIANS AND HOW THEY LIVED. 

66. How the Indians looked; the Clothes they wore. — 
Let us now learn a few things about the Indians as 
they were before their habits and mode of life had 
been changed by contact with white men. 

The heads of the Indians were always bare. It was 
customary for them to allow one tuft of hair to grow 
longer than the rest. This was called the " scalp 
lock." When a fight had been finished, this lock 
served as a convenience to the victor. It enabled 
him to remove handily the scalp from the head of a 
dead enemy, and to carry it easily away as a trophy 
of triumph. 

The Indians had the curious custom of smearing 
their faces and their bodies with red paint. On great 
occasions, such as the holding of a tribal council or 
a war dance, they painted themselves a more brilliant 
red. The bright color was believed to give a formi- 
dable aspect. They decked themselves with queer 
ornaments of many sorts. Around their necks they 
wore strings of shining stones, bits of mica, baubles 

n 



74 



T/ie Story of American History. 



made of copper, and animals' teeth highly polished. 
Feathers Avere held in great esteem. Success in war 
entitled the victor to wear eagles' feathers as a mark 
of the greatest distinction. In this love of finery the 
men were fully as vain as the women. 

The clothing of the Indians was, for the most part, 
fashioned out of the dried skins of animals, such as 

the deer and 
v~ A^.^r^«^"-^ - .' - . '^:- '^' the beaver, 

whose flesh 
had been 
used for food. 
Unlike that 
of civilized 
people, this 

clothing was seldom or never changed, but was worn 
till it was worn out. If not un washable, it was rarely 
washed. The " noble red man " w^as not a model of 
cleanliness. He had never heard of soap. 

67. What the Indians had to eat. — The food of the 
Indians varied with the place and the season, but game 
and fish w^ere the. principal articles. Their game was 
chiefly deer, bears, moose, raccoons, foxes, wild geese, 
and wild turkeys. Having no salt nor spices, no bread 
nor potatoes, neithermilk,butter, nor cheese, their living 
must have lacked such relish as we give to ours. 




Long House of the Iroquois Indians. 



The Indiajis and hoiv they lived. 75 

In the settled villages the Indians cultivated rude 
gardens. In these they raised corn, beans, squashes, 
and tobacco; but, considering the crudeness of their 
tools, we must suppose that the crops were scanty. 
The squaws used to cook corn and beans together, 
making succotash. Both the dish and the name have 
come to us from the Indians. Green corn they used 
to roast in hot ashes, very much as we sometimes 
do now at clambakes or other outings. Meat they 
commonly cooked by thrusting a stick through it and 
holding it over the fire ; but they sometimes boiled it 
in rude earthen pots. Fish they broiled on a frame 
of sticks. 

68. The Indian* s Struggle for a Living. — The principal 
work of the Indians was to get food enough. They 
did not hunt or fish merely for sport, as men and 
boys of our time are apt to do. To the Indian, hunt- 
ing was the serious task of providing for his family 
and himself. At times the supply became very slight. 
It was especially so in' the winter. Then they really 
suffered from hunger, and were forced to eat ground- 
nuts and acorns — anything to keep alive. But when 
they had had good hunting they would eat enormously. 
At times, when game was scarce, different tribes would 
have savage fights for the best hunting ground. 

Their only drink was water. After the white man 



76 The Story of American History. 

came they learned the use of rum and whiskey, and 
would pay a great price for what they called "fire 
water." On the other hand, the white man learned 
from the Indian the use of tobacco. It was a bad 
bargain both ways. 

69. Hardships of the Indian Women. — The Indian war- 
riors occupied themselves with war and the chase. 
They looked upon ordinary labor as degrading, and 
fit only for women. These they treated very much 
as slaves. The squaw did all the everyday work — 
building the wigwam, raising the crops, making the 
clothes, and weaving bark mats for the beds. On 
journeys the women carried their infants, or papooses, 
on their backs. 

With some tribes woman held a higher place. 
She had a considerable degree of influence in public 
matters, and often decided the question of peace or 
war. She could even drive away her husband if he 
failed to bring home game or fish enough for the 
family. 

70. The Indians* Weapons. — Indian wars were con- 
ducted in a manner entirely different from that of 
civilized nations. The weapons were the bow and 
arrow, the hatchet of sharp stone, and the war club. 
The bowstring was made of Indian hemp or the 
sinews of the deer. The arrowhead was of sharp 




The Indians and hozv they lived. 77 

flint or bone ; its point was often made of an eagle's 
claw or the spur of a wild turkey. The stone hatchet, 
called "tomahawk," had a long handle and was a 
powerful 
weapon. 

After the 
Indians had 
seen the -white man's guns, hatchets, and 
knives, and could obtain such things for themselves, 
the use of their own rude weapons was abandoned. 

Gunpowder was for a long time a mystery to the 
Indians. At first they thought that it grew^ from the 
ground, like the tobacco plant. It is said they once 
sow^ed some of it in the spring, expecting to see it 
take root and grow. They supposed every white 
person knew how to make it; and so, once upon 
a time, when they had captured two young girls, 
they tried to force them to make a supply of it. 

71. How the Indians fought. — In battle, Indians did 
not come out in fair and open fight, as is the custom 

of white men; but their 
skill consisted in sur- 




iNDiAN Stone priscs, shooting from 

behind rocks and trees, 
skulking around at night, and killing the enemy asleep. 
Captives in war were frequently tortured in the most 




"jS The Stoiy of American History. 

barbarous ways; sometimes they were tied to trees 
and were slowly burned to death or were shot. But 
it was a high standard of Indian valor to bear the 
sharpest pain without flinching, with never a groan 
or any sign of suffering. 

The Indians, believing as they did that all animals 

were protecting or unfriendly spirits, often addressed 

them as if they were human beings. The story is 

-— ^ ^^ r^^^ told of an 

l'^>X;^%%^X ^' <^ snot at a 

PiC%^ r^ large bear 

\ ^^^ Indian Calumet or ^ 

»^^ Pipe OF Peace. andwOUnded 

him. The 
bear fell and lay whining and groaning. The Indian 
went up to him and said : " Bear, you are a coward, and 
no warrior. You know that your tribe and mine are 
at war, and that yours began it. If you had wounded 
me, I w^ould not have uttered a sound ; and yet you 
sit here and cry and disgrace your tribe." 

72. The Use made of Wampum, or Indian Money. — 
Indians had little use for gold or silver, but they had 
something in its place, which they called " wampum." 
This was made of bits of seashells like beads. The 
pieces had a hole in the center, so that they could be 
strung in long strips or made into belts. 



The Indians and Jiow they lived. 79 

Wampum was used for a long time as regular 
money or the medium of exchange between the 
Indians and the whites, and even between one white 
and another. Strings of it were passed around for 
purposes of trade, as we now use coins of silver and 
gold. But after a while, as seashells became plentiful, 
wampum became almost worthless, and then the Indians 
were glad enough to take the white man's silver money. 




Treaty-Belt made of W^ampum. 

Among some of the tribes, bands of wampum were 
woven into ornamental belts, and these w^ere decorated 
with colored beads combined into striking figures and 
designs. The wampum belts were often given as a 
pledge that the giver would faithfully live up to cer- 
tain terms of a treaty. 

73. Indian Tools and Snowshoes. — As the Indians had 
so little to work with — no iron for knives, nor tools 
of any kind except flinty stones made sharp and called 
"hatchets" — it is wonderful how ingenious they were 
in supplying their personal wants. They kneaded in 



8o The Story of American History. 

oil and softened with heat the furry skins of animals, 
and from these they made excellent garments for 
winter. From dried deerskins they fashioned a sort 
of soft serviceable shoe called the " moccasin." This 
was wrought from a single piece of the leather. It 
fitted snugly to the foot and was tied with strips of 
buckskin at the ankle. 

The danger of starving in the winter when the 
snow was deep led the Indians to invent the snowshoe. 
This was made of a light framework of ash, filled 
with meshes of rawhide, thus presenting a broad sur- 
face to the snow. By this contrivance the Indians 
could travel in winter as easily as in summer. 

It is said that an Indian upon snowshoes could 
easily travel forty miles a day. Strangely enough, 
all the cunning of the white man has never availed 
to make anything better for such a purpose. 

74. Indians as Hunters. — The Indian contrived ingen- 
ious traps for catching bears, moose, and other sorts 
of game. One of these devices consisted of a long 
and heavy log, carefully balanced upon a post placed 
upright in the ground, with a log attached to one end 
of it. The roving animal would approach, and by 
jumping attempt to get the bait that was so attractive. 
The movement would cause the log to fall, and thus, 
perhaps, the creature would be killed. 



The Indians and Jiow they lived. 8 1 

Fish were killed by shooting them with the arrow 
as they swam ; or they were caught with hooks of 
bone, or taken in rivers by means of a weir, or brush 
fence, fixed across the stream. Sometimes they were 
taken in nets woven from the bark of the elm, and in 
traps of wickerwork not unlike the lobster pots now 
in use. 

The Indians had a remarkable faculty, resembling 
that of the ventriloquist, whereby they could imitate 
the voices of woodland creatures — the hoot of the 
owl, the cry of the wild turkey, the howl of the wolf. 
By this means they could readily attract animals of 
various species to a spot where they might easily kill 
them. Even hostile Indians out searching for game 
were in this manner sometimes allured to the place of 
danger. 

75. Story illustrating the Indian* s Keen Observation. — 
It is marvelous what quick eyes the Indian had to see 
almost instantly things that other persons would never 
see at all. The story is often told of an Indian who 
returned one day to his wigwam and found that a large 
piece of venison had been stolen. He looked carefully 
around, and then started off for the thief. He asked 
the first man he met if he had seen a little old white 
man with a short gun and a small dog with a short 
tail. Afterwards he explained how he learned all these 



82 



The Story of American History. 



points. He said he knew the thief was Httle, for he 
had to pile up some stones to reach the venison ; old, 
by his short steps; white, by the toes of his tracks 
turning out ; that he had a short gun, for when it fell 
to the ground from w^iere it leaned against the tree, it 
made a short mark in the dirt. He knew by the dog's 




An Indian Camp of To-Day in the Far West. 

track that the dog was small ; he knew that the dog 
had a short tail, because a short groove had been 
" wiggled " in the dust where the dog had sat while 
his master was stealing the meat ! 

76. The Indians were Cruel, Cunning, and Revengeful. — 
As to character, the Indian had, like all the rest of us, 
a good and a bad side. Though usually silent and 



TJie Indians ami Jiow they lived. 



83 



moody in the presence of white men, travelers tell us 
that the Indians had lively games when by themselves, 
and enjoyed fun and frolic and story-telling like other 
people. They 
were crafty and ,-^ ^P^'j 
treacherous, as 
well they might 
be from their con- 
stant warfare. 

They were cruel 
a n d remorseless 
in their revenge, 
and they never for- 
got a wrong. Full 
of cunning, they 
took pride in in- 
genious tricks. 
They would wear 
snowshoes with the toes turned backwards, that the 
enemy might think they had gone the other way! In 
their homes they w^ere filthy, lazy, and improvident. 
They were passionately fond of gambling, after they 
had learned it of the whites ! 

On the other hand, they were patient of hunger, 
cold, and fatigue, and were wonderfully brave. They 
were hospitable to an acquaintance in need, even 




Indian Attack on a Settler's House. 



84 The Story of American History, 

sharing the last of their food with him. They were 
grateful for benefits, and never forgot a kindness. 
Their promise was almost saered, and the pledge of 
their chief was rarely broken. 

When the early settlers in this country treated the 
Indians kindly, they usually received kindness in 
return, as we shall see later in reading William Penn's 
dealings with the Indians in Pennsylvania. But now 
and then some rude white man was cruel or dishonest 
in dealing .with them, and then he learned that the red 
man knew what revenge means. 

If any serious offense was given to the Indians they 
brooded over it, and then, eager to inflict more harm 
than they had suffered, instead of punishing the 
offender alone, they spent their revenge upon all they 
could reach of the white race. So they sprang sud- 
denly upon peaceful villages and cruelly killed inno- 
cent men, women, and children. 

77. Anecdote of Tecumseh. — The true Indian warrior 
had a certain proud dignity that challenged respect. 
At a great council of the government with the 
Indians, the famous Indian chief, Tecumseh, after he 
had made a speech, turned to take a seat, when it was 
found that by accident no chair had been placed for 
him. General Harrison instantly called for one. It 
was brought by the interpreter, who said, " The 



The Indiajis and how they lived. 



85 



Great Father wishes you to take a chair." " My 
father ! " he said with dignity, as he wrapped his 
blanket about him to seat himself in Indian style 
upon the ground ; " the Sun is my father, the Earth 
is my mother, and on her bosom will I repose." 

78. Care and Training of the Indian Children. — The 
care and training of Indian children w^ere peculiar. 
When the little papoose was 
very young, it was not fondled 
nor much attended to. Quite 
early it was placed in a small 
trough of bark and strapped in 
with a mat or skin in front, the 
little bed being padded with soft 
moss. This bit of a cradle was 
handy to carry around, to lean 
against a log, or to hang up in 
a tree. 

As they grew up, they were as 
happy as other children. Their 

parents made toys for them, and their older mates 
taught them songs and games. As soon as they were 
large enough, each had his share of work to do. The 
girls had to help their mothers to dress skins for 
clothing, to bring wood and water, and to work in 
the rude garden. 




Indian Papoose. 



86 



The Story of American History 



79. The Indian Boy^s Early Training. — The Indian 
boy was early trained for hunting and war. His first 
lessons were to manage his bow and arrows, and then 
he was taken into the woods to shoot. He was 
taught to set traps for small game, and his father 
often slyly put some animal in the snare to encourage 

the young hunter. 
So the boy was 
taught, not arith- 
metic and gram- 
mar, but all about 
birds — t h e i r 
colors, their dif- 
ferent whistles 
and cries, and 
what each note 
means; their 
food and habits, 
where they nest, 
how they fly, and 
the best way to shoot them. His lessons included the 
study of rabbits and squirrels, of beavers and foxes, and 
of all such game. 

By the time the Indian boy had seen twelve or four- 
teen s7tows, as the Indian would say, he could make 
his own bows and arrows and could help make canoes. 




Boy warning Settlers of an Indian Attack. 



The Jiidiajis and hoiv tlicy lived. ^y 

He liad received many lessons about shaping toma- 
hawks and war clubs, and how to use them. Playing 
ball was a favorite game with Indian youth. Catlin, 
the celebrated authority on Indian life, tells us that 
he used to ride thirty miles to see a ball game, and 
would sit on his horse all day to see a match played 
by six to eight hundred or even a thousand young 
Indians. 

80. How the Indians buried their Dead. — For the most 
part the Indians buried their dead in mounds or in 
shallow graves, sometimes prostrate, but often in a 
sitting posture facing the east. But some tribes placed 
the body on a high scaffold raised on long poles out 
of the reach of wild beasts. Beside the body were 
carefully placed the weapons of the dead, paints, any 
favorite trinkets he used to wear, and food to sustain 
him on his journey to the far-off Happy Hunting 
Grounds. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE DUTCH IN NEW YORK ; THE QUAKERS IN 
PENNSYLVANIA. 

81. The Search for a Shorter Route to India. — We must 
not forget that during all these years the European 
nations in their desire for riches were often searching 
for a shorter route to China and the East Indies. 
They hoped to succeed in this either by sailing to 
the north of Europe or America, or by finding some 
opening across the newly discovered continent. For 
more than a hundred years after the time of Colum- 
bus many a daring navigator came forward to under- 
take this business. 

82. Sir Henry Hudson, the Bold and Skillful Mariner. — 
Several years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, 
a bold and skillful mariner named Henry Hudson, 
a friend of Captain John Smith, was hired by 
some London merchants to search for the imaginary 
northern passage. For this purpose he made two 
perilous voyages. Once he sailed along the eastern 
coast of Greenland until the ice stopped him. After 
three months he returned to England. The next 



Dutch and Quaker Colonies. 89 

year he tried it again, and sailed farther north, but 
as before was turned back by the ice. 

Hudson tells us that on one of these voyages two 
of his sailors saw a mermaid swimming close to the 
ship's side. The upper parts of her body were those 
of a woman, but below she was a fish, and as big as a 
halibut ! Probably the creature was a seal, an animal 
with which English sailors were not at that time 
familiar. 

83. Hudson enters the Dutch Service. — At last, in 1609, 
Hudson, who had now become famous, entered the 
service of the Dutch East India Company and sailed 
from Amsterdam to find the long-sought route. Liv- 
ing near the ocean, the Dutch at this time were 
great sailors and traders. They owned more ships 
than all Europe besides. Their sails whitened every 
ocean. They were glad to hire " the bold Englishman, 
the expert pilot, and the famous navigator," as they 
called Hudson, to brave the perils of the Arctic seas. 

Again this intrepid sailor, " the Nansen of the 
year 1608," went too far north, and again he found 
himself caught in the ice of the desolate Arctic 
regions. He now made up his mind to go farther 
west. He coasted along Greenland, passed south- 
ward to Newfoundland, sighted Cape Cod, and then 
sailed as far south as Virginia. Finding the English 



90 



The Story of A 



merican 



History. 



settlers there ahead of him, he turned about and 
steered north again, keeping close to the wild and 
unknown coast. 

84. Hudson sails up the Hudson River in the Little << Half 
Moon.** — In September, 1609, Sir Henry found him- 
self not far from 
the mouth of a 
broad river, and 
dropped anchor 
near what is now 
Sandy Hook. The 
Indians here were 
kind to their 
strange visitors, 
and came on board 
the vessel to trade. 
They brought 
grapes, furs, and 
pumpkins, and 
traded them for 
beads, knives, and 
hatchets. 

After a few days 
the anchor of the little " Half Moon " was raised, the 
sails were spread, and Hudson was slowly wafted past 
the Palisades and far up the noble river which still 




The " Half Mc^on " on the Hudson. 



Dutch and Qttakcr Colonies. 91 

bears his name. Because for many miles the water at 
high tide was salt, he thought that he had surely found 
the long-wished-for passage to India. 

No white man had ever before sailed up this, 
perhaps the most beautiful of American streams. 
With what wonder and hope must the captain and 
his men have gazed on the lovely scenery, rich in the 
gorgeous hues of autumnal foliage ! In fact Hudson, 
in the story of his voyage, says that the lands on 
both sides were " pleasant with grass and flowers 
and goodly trees, — as beautiful a land as one can 
tread upon." 

85. Kindly received by the Indians. — The Indians, 
filled with curiosity, flocked from far and near to the 
banks of the river to see the " great white bird," a 
name they gave the " Half Moon " on account of its 
white spreading canvas wings. As they peeped out 
from the rocks and woods along the shore, they had 
the same feelings of curiosity and awe as did the 
natives that gazed in w^onder upon the vessels of 
Columbus more than a hundred years before. 

Hudson sailed north until he reached a point near 
where Albany now stands. As the river now became 
narrower and its water fresh, he was convinced at 
last that he could never find his way to India by 
this route. 



92 The Story of American History. 

86. Hudson returns Home; his Sad Fate. — After a 
time, disappointed at his failure to reach India, Hud- 
son sailed out of the river and across the ocean to 
England, and afterwards to Holland. The stout- 
hearted mariner never saw his " great river " again. 
On his next and last voyage he sailed farther north 
and entered the immense land-locked bay that now 
bears his name. He thought that he had this time 
surely discovered the long-sought opening to the Paci- 
fic. Imagine his dismay when, after coasting around 
its sides for nearly three months, he was forced at last 
to believe that this inland sea had no western outlet ! 

The lone Arctic winter came. Hudson's men 
were nearly starved. They had endured so many 
hardships that in a frenzy of despair and wrath 
they at last bound their captain hand and foot, 
thrust him on board a small boat with his son and 
some sick sailors, and set them adrift. This was 
the last ever seen or heard of Hudson. 

Probably, like De Soto, the bold navigator found 
his grave in the vast waters that he was the first to 
discover. 

87. The Dutch claim the Territory ; Manhattan Island 
bought of the Indians. — The Dutch now laid claim to 
all the territory along the Hudson River, and in 1614 
they took possession of it under the name of New 




Dutch and Quaker Colonies. 93 

Netherland. In a few years they began to establish 
trading posts, where they might buy of the Indians 
the skins of bears, beavers, and otters. 

After a time the Indians sold the Dutch the island 
of Manhattan for the sum of twenty-four dollars. 
This settlement, then called " New Amsterdam," was 
the beginning of what is now 
one of the largest and richest 
cities in the world — Greater 
New York. 

88. The Dutch Settlers prosper. — r rrixiTni 
For the first few years the set- ^\' --' 
tiers in New Amsterdam were - \ ] 
poor; but after a time richer ^" 
and more influential men made ^^^ . 
homes for themselves in this ^^"^^^ windmill. 
colony. They secured from the Dutch East India 
Company the right to own by purchase from the 
Indians a tract of land sixteen miles in length and 
extending an unlimited distance into the interior, and 
to establish there a colony of fifty people. The rich 
landholders were called " patroons," and their great 
estates laid the foundation of the wealth of many of 
the leading families of the Empire State. 

89. How the Dutch People lived. — As the Dutch pros- 
pered, they built better houses. These were of wood. 




94 



The Story of A 7nerican History. 



Each house had on its roof one weathercock, and 
often many of them. The gable ends were built of 
various-colored bricks brought over from Holland. 

The Dutch w^omen were excellent housekeepers. 
We owe to them the doughnut, the cruller, cookies, 
and many other delicious articles of skillful cookery. 
Many a pleasant custom had its origin 
with these genial Dutch settlers, such 
as the Christmas visit of Santa Claus, 
the display of colored eggs at Easter, 
and the friendly visiting on New Year's 
day. The floors in these thrifty homes 
were covered with white sand, on which 
quaint figures were sketched with a 
broom. There were huge fireplaces with 
Dutch tiles of different colors, on which 
were represented scenes from the Bible. 
The Dutch men w^ere fond of good food 
and of their pipes. They used to have in 
front of their houses a porch or " stoop," 
sometimes called a " bowerie," on which they could sit 
and smoke and tell stories and take their ease generally. 
The men wore several pairs of knee breeches at once, 
one over another, with long stockings, and with huge 
buckles at the knees and on the shoes. Their coats, 
too, were adorned with great buckles of silver or brass. 




A Dutchman 

OF New 
Amsterdam. 



Dtitcli and Quaker Colonies. 



95 



The women were neatly dressed, usually wearing 
several short petticoats of many colors. Their stock- 
ings were of their own knitting, and had as many hues 
as the rainbow. Their shoes had very high heels. 

90. Peter Stuyvesant, the Last Dutch Governor ; New 
York surrenders to the English. — The last Dutch gov- 
ernor was Peter Stuyvesant, brave and honest, but 
a very stubborn 
man. He was so 
obstinate that he 
was nicknamed 
" Headstrong 
Peter." He was 
also known as 
" Old Silverleg," 
because, having 
lost a leg in war, 

Peter Stuyvesant. 

he used a wooden 

one adorned with strips of silver. He was a tyrant in 
his way, and at length his people would not endure 
his tyranny, especially as the English settlers in the 
same region enjoyed more liberty and had increased 
more rapidly in numbers and riches than they. 

And so it happened that when an English fleet 
sailed into the harbor in 1664, the people did not 
come to the help of " Headstrong Peter," but gladly 




96 The Story of A^ncrican History. 

surrendered the town to the English in spite of " Old 
Silverleg's " wrath ! The name of the colony m as 
changed to New York in honor of the Duke of York, 
the brother of King Charles II. 

91. How the Quakers were persecuted. — About forty 
years after the Pilgrims had built their homes in 
Plymouth, the members of a peculiar religious sect, 
the Society of Friends, were bitterly persecuted in 
England. In spite of their ill-treatment, which lasted 
for many years, they greatly increased in numbers. 
A few men and women of wealth and of high social 
position joined them. 

These Friends, or Quakers as they were commonly 
called, were singularly blunt in speech and plain in 
dress. But they were an honest, sober, God-fearing 
people. They wished to treat all men as friends, 
brothers, and equals. They did not approve of war 
and would not serve as soldiers. As they believed 
all men equal, they recognized no superiors : they 
would not doff their hats to any one, not even to the 
king, for they thought " the Lord forbade it." They 
said they would acknowledge no master, king, or lord, 
save only Him who was their " Master in heaven," the 
" King of Kings and Lord of Lords." 

Naturally enough, in those days of bigotry and in- 
tolerance the doctrines and behavior of the Quakers 



Dutch and Oiiaker Colonies. 



97 



made the king and his great men very angry. They 
threw hundreds of them into prison. Consequently, 
many of the Quakers left their homes, came to this 
country, and settled in Massachusetts. But the stern 
sons of the Old 
Pilgrim Fathers 
would not endure 
them. They drove 
them away or put 
them in prison. 
The Boston Puri- 
tans even hanged 
four Quakers who 
had repeatedly 
come back after 
having been several 
times punished and 
driven into exile. 

92. William Penn 
becomes a Quaker. — 

About the time King Charles II was restored to the 
throne of England (1660) there lived in that country 
a handsome young man of noble birth and talents of 
the highest order. William Penn was his name. 
There is a portrait of him in the dress of an English 
cavalier, with flowing curls over his shoulders, and a 




William Penn. 



gS The Story of Aniei^ican History. 

face of manly tenderness and beauty. This man, 
the founder of Pennsylvania, was the only son of a 
brave English admiral who had won signal victories 
for his country during the Dutch war, and was held 
in high favor by the king and the royal family. 
While Penn was a boy and in college, his heart was 
stirred within him by listening to the Quaker 
preachers. He believed they were right. He was 
convinced that he ought to join them, and did so in 
spite of the ridicule of his rich and titled friends. 

93. Young Penn falls into Disgrace with his Family and is 
sent from Home. — Young Penn was expelled from col- 
lege and sent home. The old admiral, in his anger 
because his only son would disgrace his family by 
uniting with the despised Quakers, drove him from 
his door. The mother, however, interceded, and the 
stubborn youth was allowed to travel for a time on 
the Continent to divert his mind from what they 
called his foolishness. 

Alas for the old admiral's ambitious plans for his 
gifted son ! William was out-and-out a Quaker ; and 
no title, honors, or favor could induce him to give up 
his faith. He pleaded with the king to allow the 
English people freedom of conscience, so that they 
might worship God as they deemed best. He tried 
in vain to procure the release of the Quakers from the 



Dutch and Quaker Colonies. 99 

prisons where hundreds of them were then confined. 
For a time Penn was himself shut up in the Tower 
of London, the prison of offenders of high rank. 
While there he wrote his best known work, No Cross, 
no Crown. The king's brother, the Duke of York, 
however, soon brought about his release. 

94. Penn inherits Wealth ; secures a Grant of Land from 
the King. — Penn's father was after all a generous man 
and regretted his treatment of his son. On his death, 
in 1670, he left him all his estate. Penn made a good 
use of his wealth. He devoted his time, money, and 
talents to secure legal protection in England for the 
persecuted Quakers. The task was almost hopeless. 

In his despair Penn longed to build a quiet home 
for his people in the wilderness of America. He had 
heard of the happiness and prosperity of the Pilgrim 
settlements, and he now planned to lead his breth- 
ren across the Atlantic. The gallant admiral at his 
death had a claim against the government of about 
eighty thousand dollars. Now King Charles was a 
spendthrift and always in debt. Penn told the king 
that he would accept lands in America instead of 
money in payment of this claim. The easy-going 
monarch was only too glad to take up with this offer, 
for he had plenty of land in America but very little 
silver and gold. 



lOO 



The Story of A merican History. 



On condition that he should be paid two beaver- 
skins every year, the king granted Penn a large tract 
of land on the western bank of the Delaware river, 
and named it Pennsylvania, or " Penn's Woodland." 

95. A Colony of Quakers established in Pennsylvania. — 
Penn now planned to send his Quaker colony to the 
new home in America. He came over 
in person in the fall of 1682, and landed 
at New Castle, Delaware. Penn sailed 
in an open boat up the broad and beau- 
tiful Delaware River until he came to 
the place on which his chief city or 
capital was soon to be laid out. The 
" Quaker King," for thus he was called, 
was received with great joy by the peo- 
ple. They knew that he would keep 
his promise to secure full freedom of 
conscience and speech for all. He 
called it a "free colony for all mankind." 

No person was compelled, as were the Pilgrims of 
New England, to attend any church or practise any 
form of religious worship. Only murder and treason 
were punished with death. Before this Penn had 
written to the colonists, saying, " You shall be gov- 
erned by laws of your own making ; I shall not usurp 
the right of any, or oppress his person." 




A Prosperous 
Quaker. 



Dutch and Quaker Colonies. loi 

96. Penn selects a Location for his Capital; Philadelphia, 
<'the City of Brotherly Love/* — On a neck of land 
between the Schuylkill and the Delaware, Penn 
selected a site for his " faire and greene country 
towne " — a city of refuge and a home of free speech 
and conscience. And he generously bought the land 
from some Swedes, who had bought it from the 
Indians. 

Penn now laid out his city and gave it the Bible 
name of Philadelphia, which means " brotherly love." 
As he stood with his friends on the high ground and 
beheld the country in its autumn foliage, the good 
man said : " I have seen the finest cities of Europe, but 
I never saw so beautiful a place for a city as this." 

97. His Kind Treatment of the Indians. — Penn knew 
how cruelly some of the other colonies had treated the 
Indians. This should not be done in Pennsylvania. 
The Indians must be fairly dealt with. Their lands 
were not to be taken away by force, but must be 
openly bought and honestly paid for. If a settler 
wronged an Indian, he was to be punished. In short, 
in this Quaker colony they w^ere all to live together 
as brothers. 

That everything might be done in a business-like 
way, Penn sent word to various tribes of Indians that 
he would meet them on a certain day to make a treaty. 



I02 



The Story of American History. 



He wanted them to hear what he had to say. He sent 
word to them that he was a man of peace, and no fire- 
arms would be brought to the meeting. The Indians 

. ^, ^^_^ , gladly accepted Penn's 

^^ ' invitation. 

98. The Celebrated 
Treaty with the Indians. 
— On the chosen day 
they came from far and 
near. They met under 
the branches of a great 
elm tree a little north 
of Philadelphia. This 
giant son of the forest, 
called ever afterward 
" The Treaty Tree," be- 
came an object of deep 
interest. It was pro- 
tected with extreme 
care. During the Rev- 
olutionary war, even the British officers posted 
guards around it to prevent its branches from 
being used for firewood. The venerable tree blew 
down some ninety years ago. Its rings proved it to 
be two hundred and eighty-three years of age. A 
monument with a suitable inscription now marks the 




Penn's Meeting with the 
Indians. 



Dutch and Quaker Colonies. 103 

spot where Penn and the Indians met to pledge in 
" unbroken faith." 

First, there was a feast of good things to eat, and 
numerous presents w^ere given to the delighted red 
men. The chiefs then seated themselves on the 
ground and the council began. Penn carried no 
arms, wore no uniform, and had no soldiers. He 
was at this time thirty-eight years old, graceful and 
fine-looking, was dressed in a suit of drab-colored 
clothes, had a blue sash around his waist, and wore 
a broad-brim hat, which he did not take off for the 
sake of fashion or ceremony. 

The Indians, seated around their chiefs, listened 
attentively while the "Quaker King" spoke. He 
told them that the English and the Indians were 
to obey the same laws, and both were to be equally, 
protected in their rights. No advantage should be 
taken on either side, but all should be openness and 
love ; that the great God above was the Father of 
both white and red men, and that all were brothers 
and should live together in peace. His words, so 
full of kindness, good will, and justice, won the hearts 
of the dusky natives. 

" We will live in peace with William Penn and his 
children," said the Indians, "as long as the sun and 
moon endure." This treaty was never broken. 



I04 The Sto7y of American History. 

99. The Indians take Penn at his Word, and live after- 
wards at Peace with the Quakers. — After this talk was 
over, the pipe of peace was lighted and passed round, 
and each took a whiff. 

The Indians took Penn at his word. They believed 
in him and they kept their part of the compact. It is 
said that not a drop of Quaker blood was ever shed 
by an Indian, so much did the red men love and 
honor the name of William Penn. 

The good Quaker often visited the Indians at their 
councils, or at their " powwows," as their festive gather- 
ings were called. He went in and out among them, 
visited them in their wigwams, and ate roasted corn 
and hominy with them. He had frolics with the 
Indian children, joined in the outdoor games of the 
warriors, and talked to them about their faith in God, 
whom they called the Great Spirit. 

100. The Quakers prosper ; Trials of Penn in his Old Age. — 
We are not surprised that the Quaker settlers pros- 
pered. In two years there were six hundred houses ; 
also schools and a printing press. Philadelphia had 
grown more in three years than New York City in 
half a century. After a few years the founder of the 
colony went back to England. He continued to watch 
over his far-away colony, sending out emigrants and 
in every way promoting its interest. 



Dutch ajid Quaker Colonies. 105 

After some time Penn returned to this country, but 
remained only two years. In his old age he met with 
sore trials. His son disgraced him by his riotous 
living, his trusted agent proved dishonest, and at 
length the good Quaker was financially ruined and 
was flung into prison for debt. Not long after his 
release he died at the age of seventy-eight. 

101. Subsequent Prosperity of the Quaker Colony. — When 
it once became known that in Penn's colony a man 
could worship God as he pleased, enjoy personal rights; 
that poor men could own their farms, and that there 
was no dread of the Indians, we are not surprised 
that colonists quickly flocked to Pennsylvania. This 
settlement surpassed all others in America in rapid 
growth, and was for many years more prosperous and 
comfortable than any other. About one-third of the 
inhabitants were Quakers, and these were always a 
thrifty and peaceful people. 

At the close of the Revolutionary war Philadelphia 
was larorer than either Boston or New York. AmonQ^ 
the thirteen colonies Pennsylvania ranked third in 
influence and population, being surpassed by none 
but Virginia and Massachusetts. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS. 

102. Prosperity of the Early Colonists. — For fifty years 
or more after the colonists had established their 
homes in the wilderness of the New World, they were 
growing rich and strong. They cleared away forests, 
planted fields, traded with the Indians, and built for 
themselves more comfortable houses. 

Especially was this the case during the years when 
Cromwell and his party were in power in England, 
and until after Charles II was restored to the Eng- 
lish throne. The settlers boldly pressed further and 
further on, crossing great rivers, climbing steep moun- 
tains, and building log cabins in far distant regions. 

The colonists in Pennsylvania and Virginia pushed 
westward into the valley of the Ohio, while the English 
settlers in New York made their way through the 
forest toward the Great Lakes. 

103. The French in North America. — More than seventy 
years before Jamestown was settled, a French explorer 
by the name of Cartier had entered the Gulf of St. 

Lawrence, sailed up the river of the samie name, and 

1 06 



The French and India) I Wars. 107 

taken possession of the country in the name of 
France. This same region became afterwards the 
great French stronghold in America. 

A Frenchman by the name of Champlain sailed up 
the beautiful river St. Lawrence, and was so charmed 
with the scenery of the country that in 1608, the year 
after Jamestown was settled, he began to plant a 
colony on the site of what is now Quebec. The 
settlement soon became a city and the capital of the 
French possessions in America. 

The French were also the first explorers of the vast 
interior regions of our country. Their fur traders 
and trappers kept on good terms with the Indians, 
and slowly pushed along the shores of the Great 
Lakes until they had established a chain of trading- 
posts from the St. Lawrence to Lake Superior. 
About the time of King Philip's War in New Eng- 
land Father Marquette discovered the upper Missis- 
sippi, and floated down this great river nearly as 
far as the mouth of the Arkansas. 

104. La Salle floats down the Mighty Mississippi. — The 
bravest and ablest of all the French explorers was a fur- 
trader by the name of La Salle. This daring man, whose 
life was filled with romantic adventures and hardships, 
bravely undergone, gave France the right to claim as 
her own the vast domain of the Mississippi valley. 



io8 



The Story of Ajnerican History. 



v-^:-^^^ iti^ ^ 



On Lake Erie, La Salle built a small vessel, in which 
he sailed to the westward over the Great Lakes. In 

the year 1682, 
\v i t h a few 
companions, he 
floated down 
the mighty Mis- 
sissippi until he 
reached the 
Gulf of Mexico. 
With solemn 
ceremonies he 
claimed for 
France all the 
country drained 
by this great 
river and its 
branches. This 
enormous terri- 
tory, extending 
from the Alle- 
ghanies to the 
Rocky Moun- 
tains, he named Louisiana in honor of his king, Louis 
XIV. The narrow strip of land held by the English 
along the Atlantic seaboard seemed a feeble possession 




La Salle at the Mouth of the Mtsstssippl 



The French and Indian Wars. 109 

compared with the vast untrodden wilderness known 
as " New France." 

Hand in hand with the French explorers and fur- 
traders, and often in advance of them, went the Jesuit 
missionaries. In their efforts to carrv their relio-ion 
to the Indians and convert them to their faith, these 
zealous men boldly struck out into the unbroken wil- 
derness of the great West. They often became brave 
and intelligent explorers. All hardships and all dan- 
gers, and even torture by the Indians, they endured 
without a murmur. 

105. Beginning of the Contests between the French and 
English Colonists. — At the time the French and English 
were making settlements on this continent, and for 
many long and weary years, with very short intervals 
of rest, Europe was cursed with war. Whether these 
cruel strifes between the nations arose from political 
ambition, greed for gain, or common jealousy, there 
was always intermingled the same old undercurrent of 
religious hatred. The French settlers in this country 
were Roman Catholics, while the English were almost 
all Protestants. Hence it is not strange that these 
bitter religious controversies were not confined to the 
Old World, but stained with blood the soil of the New. 

The English colonists dearly loved their mother 
country ; her wrongs were their wrongs. Hence when 



I lo The Sioiy of American History. 

war was declared between France and England, the 
English colonists readily took up arms against the 
French. 

106. The French and Indian Wars. — In the seventy- 
four years from 1689 to 1763 the American colonies 
were involved in four wars, occupying in all twenty- 
seven years. These w^ere called by different names; 
but the last and most important is known as the 
"French and Indian War," which began in 1755 and 
lasted about eight years. 

These long contests really made one continuous 
series of hostile operations, with only a breathing- 
spell now and then. It was one long-drawn-out and 
stubborn battle to decide w^hether the French or the 
English should be masters of North America. Jealous 
of the rich and prosperous English colonies on the sea- 
board, and having determined that England should 
not control the whole of this vast continent, the 
French built a chain of more than sixty forts stretch- 
ing from Montreal to New Orleans. 

The French had always treated the Indians with 
more consideration than had their rivals. The Jesuit 
missionaries had converted many of the red men to 
their religious belief. Sometimes the French took 
Indian women for wives, and often they adopted the 
red man's ways of living. 



The French and Indian Wars. 1 1 1 

107. The Indians ally themselves with the French. — 

When these sons of the forest found the Enghsh 
slowly but surely crowding them out of their haunts 
and homes, and saw that their hunting grounds were 
getting reduced to mere strips of territory here and 
there, it was not strange that they felt bitter towards 
the ever-encroaching new-comers. The tribes had 
steadily diminished, and they were unable to cope 
single-handed with the English. Hence they natu- 
rally looked to the French for help, and the French 
readily induced the Indians to join them against the 
English and their American descendants. 

It was a fierce struggle. English and American blood 
flowed like water before it was ended. The Indians 
never fought in open field, but always after their own 
fashion. They trusted to sudden attacks, especially 
at night, and to rapid raids, doing their savage work 
suddenly and retreating swiftly into the forest. 

Lonely families and small settlements suffered most. 
Like lightning out of the clear sky came the horror 
of an Indian night attack. The war-whoop waked 
the midnight sleepers and the glare of burning cabins 
lighted up the darkness. 

The massacre of defenseless w^omen and children 
crimsoned the earth in scores of settlements durinsf 
these cruel Axars. 



I 12 



The Story of A me j^ lean History. 



108. The Indian Attack on Deerfield in the Massachusetts 
Colony. — One bitter cold night in February, 1 704, the 
French and Indians attacked the town of Deerfield in 
the western part of Massachusetts. For this purpose 
they had walked all the way from Canada on snow- 




Indians attacking a Settler's Cabin. 

shoes. The people had been warned of their danger, 
but the watchmen fell asleep, and the villagers were 
awakened by the war-whoop of their savage foes. 
About fifty men, women, and children were killed, 
and nearly a hundred half-clad captives were marched 
off through the deep snows. Those who could not 
keep up were killed with the tomahawk. 



The French and Indian Wars. 1 1 3 

The minister of the village, Rev. John Williams, 
his wife and six children, were among those captured 
and carried to Canada. The wife lagged behind and 
was killed. Strange to say, however, the minister and 
all his children, though they suffered all manner of 
hardships, and were sold as captives, after a time 
reached home in safety. The good man lived to write 
an account of his adventures. 

One little girl seven years old was treated kindly by 
her captors and was brought up as one of their tribe. 
She married an Indian chief and long afterwards 
visited her people in Deerfield. She wore the Indian 
dress and had come to love the wild life. Her former 
friends and neighbors begged her to stay with them, 
but " she returned to the fires of her own wigwam, 
and to the love of her Mohawk children." 

109. Hannah Dustin's Famous Adventure with the Indians. 
— The story of Hannah Dustin, of Haverhill, Mass., 
has often been told. One day in 1697 the Indians 
attacked the village. Mr. Dustin saved all his family 
except his wife and her nurse, who were captured. 
They marched these women and an English boy 
many long days to their camp on an island far up the 
Merrimac River. As Mrs. Dustin's babe prevented 
her keeping up well on the journey, an Indian cruelly 
killed it. 



1 1 4 T/ie Story of A merican History. 

The boy, who understood the Indian language, 
heard the savages tell of the horrible tortures they 
intended to inflict upon their captives. When Mrs. 
Dustin heard of this she laid her plans. She made 
the lad slyly learn from the Indians how to swing a 
tomahawk and where to strike. 

One night, when the savages lay around the camp- 
fire sound asleep, the three captives arose softly, each 
killed with one blow the Indian nearest, then three 
more, and so on till ten were finished. One young 
boy and one squaw escaped. It was an awful thing 
for Mrs. Dustin to do, but the memory of her mur- 
dered child made her brave and strong. They seized 
an Indian canoe, and the three paddled swiftly down 
the river, and half dead with hunger and fatigue 
reached home. Their friends could hardly believe 
their eyes. The heroic woman brought home ten 
Indian scalps as proof of what she had done. 

110. How the Colonial Boys learned to shoot. — We can 
now well understand that the settlement of a new 
country amid hostile Indians demanded from our colo- 
nial fathers eternal vigilance, and developed in them 
remarkable skill with firearms. 

Even the colonial boy, we are told, as soon as he 
was big enough to level a musket, was given powder 
and ball to shoot squirrels. After a little practice he 



The French and Indian Wars. 1 1 5 

was required to bring in as many squirrels as he was 
given charges for the gun, under penalty of a severe 
lecture, or even of having his "jacket tanned " ! 

At the age of twelve the boy became a block-house 
soldier, with a loophole assigned him from which to 
shoot when the settlement was attacked by the Indians. 

Growing older, he became a hunter of deer, bears, and 
other wild animals, and had at any moment, day or 
night, to be in readiness to pit his life against those 
of hostile Indians. 

111. Capture of Louisburg. — During the third French 
and Indian war, which began when George Washing- 
ton was a boy of fourteen and which lasted four years, 
the New England colonists determined to strike a 
hard blow against France. They fitted out an army 
of about four thousand fishermen and farmers, put 
their expedition under the command of General Wil- 
liam Pepperell, and sailed from Boston to capture 
Louisburg on the island of Cape Breton. 

With its walls of masonry thirty feet high this was 
the strongest fortress on the continent except Quebec, 
and was known as the " Gibraltar of America." It 
commanded the entrance to the Gulf and the mouth 
of the St. Lawrence. W^ith the aid of a British fleet 
the colonists laid siege to the great fortress. 

After a lively contest of about six weeks, Louisburg 



1 1 6 The Story of A rnerican History. 

was taken (1745). The colonial army returned to 
Boston and was received with shouts of joy. But at 
the close of the war Louisburg was restored to the 
French. Great was the wrath of the colonists, who 
spoke of the day of surrender as " a black day, to be 
forever blotted out of New England calendars." 

112. The Struggle beyond the Alleghanies. — For a long 
time the Alleghany Mountains served as a natural 
boundary betw^een the English settlements in the East 
and the French trading-posts and forts in the West. 

Meanwhile the English settlers were steadily push- 
ing westward over the mountains and beginning to 
trade with the Indians on the other side. The French 
merchants often met their hated rivals in the woods 
and quarreled with them. From the first, England 
claimed all this country as her own, and looked upon 
the building of French forts as an invasion of her ter- 
ritory. The French stirred up the Indians to drive 
the English away, and would not even allow them to 
make so much as a survey of land in the rich Ohio 
valley. 

113. Young George Washington selected for an Arduous 
Undertaking. — This action of the French aroused the 
wrath of the prosperous Virginia colony and of its 
energetic governor. He decided to send a letter to 
the French commander warning him to leave the 



The French and Indian Wars, 117 

country. Governor Dinwiddle selected for this task 
a land surveyor only twenty-one years of age. His 
name was George Washington. He was even then 
known for his courage, his sound judgment, and his 
knowledge of the Indians. 

It was a journey of more than a thousand miles 
there and back, through an unbroken wilderness. 
With seven companions young Washington set out 
on his perilous trip in the fall of 1753. They climbed 
mountains, swam streams, and threaded their way 
through mountain ravines, following Indian trails 
which no white man had ever seen before. 

After many hardships they reached the French 
posts. The French commander read the letter that 
Washington had brought from the governor of Vir- 
ginia. He replied that he was there by command of 
his superior officers, and that he meant to drive every 
Englishman out of the Ohio valley! There was 
nothing for Washington to do but to start for home. 
Winter had now set in and it was soon severely cold. 
The homeward journey became a serious matter. The 
pack-horses gave out. The brave young leader and 
his guide pressed ahead on foot. Often as they lay 
down at night their wet clothing froze fast upon them. 
They secured an Indian as a guide, but he proved a 
scamp. One evening at dusk he raised his gun and 



1 1 8 The Story of A mericau History. 

fired at Washington, but missed his aim. The guide 
seized the savage, flung him to the ground, and would 
have killed him, but Washington spared his life. 
After many hardships and dangers the two men 
reached home in safety. 

114. The Beginning of the Final Struggle. — The final 
struggle was now impending between England and 
France to determine which should control America. 
The contest began in earnest in Virginia. Washing- 
ton had taken advantage of his perilous errand to the 
French commander to select a place for an English 
fort. It was at the point where the Alleghany and Mo- 
nongahela rivers unite to form the Ohio. This is the 
spot where the city of Pittsburgh now stands. It 
was the main entrance to the valley of the Ohio. For 
many years it was called the " Gateway of the West." 
The English built a fort on this spot, but the French 
easily captured it and held it under the name of Fort 
Du Quesne. 

115. Braddock^s Ill-Fated Expedition. — Affairs now be- 
came so serious that General Braddock was sent out 
from England with two regiments of regulars. Early 
in the year 1755 he began his march through the 
Virginia forests to recapture the French stronghold. 
He selected Washington as a member of his staff. 
" I want you," said the British general, " to take your 



The French and Indian Wars. 



19 



Virginia riflemen and go with me and my veterans 
to drive the French from Ohio." Washington con- 
sented. He 
joined Brad- 
dock's army 
with three 
companies of 
Virginia rifle- 
men. 

The EngHsh 
general and 
his regulars 
were brave, 
but they knew 
nothing about 
fighting In- 
dians. Never 
did an army 
seem better 
prepared. 
They felt sure 
of victory. 
Soon they 
plunged into 
the forest. There were no roads there. After a hard 
march of four weeks thev came within a few miles of 




Wv-5HIN(;iON M TEMPI ING TO R\ILY 

Braddock's Regulars. 



I20 The Story of Afnericau History. 

the French fort. Washington warned the proud 
British general of his peril. " The Indians," said he, 
" may attack us in yonder deep pass. Let me go ahead 
with my riflemen and skirmish for the savages." 

Braddock was an old soldier, and he thought he 
knew more than his young staff-officer who had 
learned from experience how to fight Indians. The 
general laughed at the well-meant advice. Next day, 
as they were marching through a deep ravine, sud- 
denly came the yells of savages and the crack of rifles. 
The British veterans were eager to fight, but they could 
see no foe. The men were shot down like sheep. 

The young Virginian and his riflemen leaped be- 
hind trees and rocks and fought the Indians in 
their own way. All was confusion. Braddock acted 
bravely. He had five horses killed under him. He 
did all that a valiant man in such a situation could 
do; but it was in vain. 

116. Washington saves Braddock* s Army from Destruction. 
— Washington and his Virginia rangers saved Brad- 
dock's army from destruction. The French and the 
Indians knew well the tall figure of Washington, who 
was in the thickest of the fight, and they kept firing 
at him. Two horses were shot under him. Four 
bullets passed through his clothing, but he did not 
receive a scratch. 



The French and Indian Wars. 1 2 1 

Many years afterwards an old Indian chief came to 
see Washington, and told him that he had fired from 
ambush on the dreadful day of Braddock's defeat, and 
both he and his young warriors had often aimed at 
him as he rode about delivering the general's orders ; 
but as they could not hit him, they had concluded 
that he was under the protection of the Great Spirit 
and could not be slain in battle. 

Braddock was at last hit. He sank to the ground 
mortally wounded. " What is to be done now } " 
he faintly asked. " We must retreat," replied Wash- 
ington. 

A retreat was ordered, and Washington and his 
riflemen defended the rear so well that what was left 
of the routed army at last reached a place of safety. 
More than seven hundred of them had fallen, includ- 
ing Braddock himself and three-fourths of his officers. 
What a penalty the proud British general paid for 
refusing to take good advice ! 

117. The Virginians fight desperately for their Homes. — 
The French were now left in full possession of all the 
region west of the Alleghanies. The Indians took 
advantage of the situation to make fresh attacks upon 
the Virginia colonists. 

The Virginians fought with desperation for their 
homes. Washington was put in command of the 



122 The Story of American History. 

forces. He wrote that " the supplicating tears of the 
women and the moving petitions of the men melted 
him into deadly sorrow." Three years after the Brad- 
dock calamity, Washington again marched his men 
through the woods against Fort Du Quesne and 
recaptured it. 

The capture of this stronghold was an important 
event to the colonists, for a highway which was never 
afterwards closed was then opened to the great West. 
The name of the fort was changed to Pittsburgh, in 
honor of England's illustrious prime minister, William 
Pitt, who had planned the expedition. 

It was just this experience in hard fighting against 
the French and Indians that providentially aided in 
fitting Washington to win success as commander-in- 
chief of the American forces in the fast approaching 
war of the Revolution. 

118. Quebec, the carefully guarded Stronghold. — We must 
remember that there had been fighting for nearly two 
years in America before England really declared w^ar 
against France in 1756. During this time the French 
had held the mastery, and the English had met with 
sad reverses. A new leader had now come into power 
in England, the great statesman, William Pitt. 

The influence of this remarkable man changed the 
course of affairs as if by magic. He fully understood 



The French and Indian Wars. 1 2 3 

America's greatest needs. From this time the Eng- 
Hsh were everywhere successful. Important forts were 
taken from the French, such as Niagara, Ticonderoga, 
and Crown Point. 

There was only one great stronghold left to the 
French. This was Quebec on the St. Lawrence. It 
was not only one of the strongest fortresses in the 
world, but it was commanded by the Marquis de 
Montcalm, one of the ablest generals of his time. 

119. How Quebec was taken. — A brave young officer. 
General Wolfe, was sent out from England to command 
the attack on Quebec. The outlook was enough to 
discourage any one, however experienced and skillful. 
The fort itself is on a high point of land overlooking 
the city. The English troops were on the river-bank, 
hundreds of feet below. 

Every movement of the English was reported at 
once to the French. Wolfe was at first repulsed at 
every point. One day, as he was reconnoitering, he 
discovered a steep and narrow path which led up the 
precipitous bluff to a level spot known as the Plains 
of Abraham. He made up his mind to climb it with 
his men. 

Soon afterwards the English troops were quietly 
rowed down the river, under the cover of darkness, 
to a little bay since known as Wolfe's Cove. As the 



124 



The Story of American History. 



young English general glided along in his boat, he 
quoted extracts from Gray's "Elegy in a Country 

. Churchyard." As he 

repeated the stanza be- 
ginning, " The boast 
of heraldry, the pomp 
of power," he said that 
he would rather have 
wTitten that poem than 
take Quebec. The 
little pathway was 
reached. Wolfe leaped 
first on shore. Under 
his leadership the Eng- 
lish soldiers climbed 
the steep. 

At sunrise on the 
morning of Sept. 13, 
1759, the British army, 
five thousand strong, 
stood on the Plains of 
Abraham. Great was 
the amazement of the 
French general, for he thought it impossible for any one 
to scale the cliffs. Montcalm chose to come out of 
the fortress and fight the English on the open ground. 




Wolfe's Men climbing to the 
Plains of Abraham. 



The French and Indian Wars. 125 

This was a fatal mistake, for after a fierce struggle the 
French were defeated. 

In the hour of victory Wolfe was fatally wounded. 
While dying he heard the cry, " They run ! they run ! " 
Rousing himself he asked, " Who run ? " Upon being 
told it was the French he exclaimed : " Now God be 
praised ; I will die in peace ! " Montcalm was also 
fatally wounded. WHien told he could not live, the 
gallant Frenchman cried out, " So much the better; 
I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec ! " 

The French retired within their fortifications, but in 
a few days Quebec was surrendered into the hands of 
the English. The fate of Canada was decided by the 
fall of this city. 

120. The End of the War and the Result. — Although the 
victory at Quebec practically ended the French and 
Indian War, it was not until 1763 that peace was de- 
clared. By the treaty France gave up to England the 
whole of Canada, together with all the territory between 
the Alleghanies and the Mississippi, except the city 
of New Orleans. She retained a few barren islands 
near Newfoundland as a shelter for her fishermen. 
The vast region spreading westward from the Missis- 
sippi towards the Pacific, under the name Louisiana, 
together with the city of New Orleans, was made 
over to Spain. 



CHAPTER IX. 

EVERYDAY LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES. 

121. Severe and Curious Punishments. — In the early 
colonial times the laws were for the most part rigid 
and the punishments severe. Criminals were occa- 
sionally branded with a hot iron. If a man shot a 
fowl on Sunday, he was often publicly whipped. 
Small offenses were punished in a way which would 
not be tolerated in our times. A woman who had 
been complained of as a scold was placed in front of 
her house with a stick tied in her mouth. Sometimes 
a common scold was fastened to what was known as a 
" ducking stool " at one end of a seesaw plank, and 
ducked in a pond or river! 

Some crimes w^ere punished by making the offender 
stand up on a stool in some public place, while fas- 
tened to his breast was a large placard on which his 
crime was printed in coarse letters, as liar or thief. 
There were in some colonies public whipping-posts 
for the special benefit of hardened offenders. In other 
cases the stocks were used, the culprit being seated on 
a bench in a public place, his feet projecting through 

126 



J^veryday Life in Colonial Times, 



127 



holes in a plank; or the pillory, where he had to stand 
up with his neck and wrists painfully confined in a 
similar way. These last two modes of punishment 
were a source of 



f. 




Culprits in the Pillory and Stocks. 



no small amuse- 

m e n t to the 

throng that 

gathered around, 

whose jeers and 

scorn must have 

been hard to 

bear. Once a 

couple of men 

in PI y m o u t h 

county had a brisk little quarrel and they were 

punished by being bound together for twenty-four 

hours, head to head and foot to foot. 

122. How Sunday was kept. — Sunday was rigidly ob- 
served in New England. In olden times, and almost 
to our own day, the Lord's Day was made to begin 
at sunset on Saturday evening. Sunday schools were 
not then known. But every person was compelled to 
attend religious service or be punished. If a man 
stayed away from church for a month without a good 
excuse, he might be put in the stocks or into a 
v/ooden cage. No word could be spoken with im- 



128 The Story of American History. 

punity against the church or the rulers. He who 
used his tongue too freely was placed in the pillory 
or stocks, or was fined, and in some extreme cases he 
lost his ears. 

The minister w^as the great man of the village. He 
was looked up to and consulted about nearly every- 
thing, and he generally decided what punishment 
should be inflicted on evil-doers. In earliest times 
the people were called to meeting by drum-beat or by 
the blowino: of a horn. The los: meetings-house had 
oiled paper windows, or, if of glass, small diamond- 
shaped panes set in leaden frames made in England. 

Inside there was no fire and there wxre no cushions. 
Families did not sit together as now ; but old men, 
young men, and women all sat by themselves. Boys 
occupied the pulpit steps or the gallery. On a bench 
just below the preacher sat the row of deacons, facing 
the congregation. If aged, they wore bright-colored 
flannel caps to protect their heads from numerous 
drafts. It was the business of the deacons to " line 
off" the Psalms as the people sang them. Books 
being very scarce, most of the congregation did not 
have any : accordingly the deacon would read aloud 
two lines, and when these were sung, read the next 
two, and so on. Every one sang. There was no 
choir, no organ, no instrumental music of any kind, 



Everyday Life in Colonial Times. 129 

and no hymns such as we have now. They sang the 
Psalms, which were arranged in metre for convenience 
in singing. 

123. The Discomforts of attending Church in Colonial Days. 
— As the meeting-house was bitter cold in midwinter, 
Vv^omen often carried foot-stoves, small sheet-iron boxes 
containing a few hot coals, which were a source of 
great comfort. The sermons were tedious, lasting 
two hours or even more ; for those patient people 
valued a sermon very much according to its length. 
On the pulpit stood an hour-glass, which a deacon 
would reverse when the sands of the hour had fallen 
through. 

Since the seats were hard, and the sermons long, 
and the men and women had worked early and late 
through the week, it was no wonder that some of the 
hearers were sleepy. It was, however, a serious offense 
to sleep in meeting. The w^atchful tithing-man, as 
he was called, was always on the lookout for drowsy 
people. It was his duty to see that the Lord's Day 
was respected by every person. He was armed with 
a long rod, one end tipped with a hare's foot and the 
other with a hare's tail. If the slumberer was a 
woman, he used to touch, possibly to tickle, her face 
with the soft fur. But if a youngster nodded, his 
head got a sharp rap from the rabbit's foot. 



I30 



The Story of American History. 



People in those days had to be thrifty. To save 
wear and tear, boys and girls walked barefoot to 
church in summer, with their shoes and stockings 

under their arms. 
They put them 
on as they entered 
the meeting- 
house, taking 
qp^ them off again as 
M-^\\ they started for 

home. 

124. The Food in 

Olden Times ; what 

it was, and how it 

was served. — In 

old colonial times 

our wheat bread 

was comparatively 

unknown. Loaves 

were made of 

mixed India n 

meal and rye, not 

unlike the brown 

bread of our time. Baked pumpkin with milk was a 

favorite dish. Bean porridge was always a common 

article of food, and in some parts of the country it is 




New England Fireside in Colonial 
Times. 



Everyday Life in Colonial Times. 131 

still popular. It was made by boiling beans with the 
liquor in which corned beef had been cooked. It 
was very convenient for wood-choppers in winter to 
carry a frozen piece of porridge in their pockets and 
thaw it out for dinner in the woods. The longer it 
was kept, the better it tasted. Hence the common 
rhyme, " Bean porridge hot, bean porridge cold ; bean 
porridge in the pot ; nine days old." 

In well-to-do families the cupboard or dresser shone 
with well-scoured pewter plates, platters, and porrin- 
gers. Square wooden plates were often used; but 
with some poorer families there was one common dish 
used, from which the whole family helped themselves 
with their fingers. 

Instead of forks, w^hich were not known, they had 
thick and clumsy pewter spoons. These were easily 
broken, and they often had to be melted up and run 
over again into moulds by men who traveled from 
house to house for this purpose. In fact shoemakers, 
tailors, dressmakers, butchers, and other highly useful 
artisans traveled about from one family to another in 
pursuit of work. 

125. Schools in Olden Times ; the Schoolmaster ; School- 
houses and how they were furnished. — In most of the 
colonies the settlers were hardly located in their new 
homes before they began to provide schools for their 



132 The Story of American History. 

children. In 1635 the town of Boston "voted to en- 
treat brother Philemon Pormont to become school- 
master," and, in 1647, the law was passed which is the 
foundation of the splendid educational system of Mas- 
sachusetts. 

Only six years after Boston was founded, the sum 
of two thousand dollars was set apart to found " a 
seminary at Cambridge," which has now become Har- 
vard University. For years afterwards, every family 
gave annually one peck of corn, or one shilling in 
money, to support the young college. 

Besides the usual branches, the early schools were 
required to teach religion and morals and the laws. 
They taught little enough of what we call school 
studies. 

The schoolhouses w^ere rough and crude. They 
usually had but one room. Within the room, the 
door and the big fireplace w^ere on one side, while 
against the other three walls was a long, rough shelf, 
in front of which w^as a seat made of a split log with 
legs driven beneath. The pupils faced the wall with 
their backs to the teacher. In front was another lower 
bench filled by the younger pupils. The teacher sat 
near the middle of the room, and there the classes 
stood to recite. The sessions were long, seven or 
eight hours a day. The boys had to furnish the fire- 



Everyday Life in Colonial Times. 133 

wood, and if any unlucky fellow failed to bring in his 
share, he had to sit in a cold corner for that day. 
When the fire was brisk, the scholars were almost 
roasted on one side and nearly frozen on the other. 

The teachers were often incompetent, either broken- 
down men or needy widows. The children brought 
each a few pennies a week for tuition. There were 
not many text-books, and the supplies were very 
scanty. The scholars often learned to write and 
" cast accounts " on pieces of white birchbark. 

126. Newspapers, Traveling, and the Night Watchman. — 
The first printing press was set up at Cambridge in 
1639. It was used chiefly to print sermons and small 
pamphlets. The first new^spaper published in America 
was the Boston News-Letter in 1 704. It was a weekly, 
a brow^n sheet hardly more than a foot square. News 
traveled slowly, for there was little communication 
between city and city. Travelers were few, and con- 
veyances were slow. A stage-coach that made forty 
miles a day between New York and Philadelphia 
was called, on account of its great speed, the " flying 
machine." 

In the cities, news was announced in the daytime 
by the public crier, who walked the streets ringing a 
large hand-bell, and pausing at the corners, where he 
recited his message of child lost, or reward offered, or 



134 The Story of American. History. 

the happening of any important event. In the night 
the town watchman, with rattle and lantern, paced 
the streets, stopping every person he met after nine 
o'clock to demand his name and business. He also 
called aloud the hours of the night in a sing-song tone : 
" Twelve-o'clock-and-all-'s-well." 

Sometimes his night cry was intensely interesting. 
At Philadelphia in October, 1781, evening after even- 
ing every one went to bed anxious about our army 
at Yorktown, and hoping every hour to hear tidings 
of victory. One night tl^ie old watchman's cry was 
heard echoing along the lonely streets : " Two-o'clock- 
and-Cornwallis-'s-captured ! " How the windows flew 
up! and how the hearty cheers burst along from 
house to house all through the city! 

127. Other Details of Home Life in the Colonies. — The 
home life of the colonists improved as the years 
passed, but until the Revolution it was very crude. 
In the families of well-to-do people the earth floors 
of early days were replaced by boards, the proudest 
decoration of which was a sprinkling of white sand, 
which on great occasions was swept into ornamental 
waves with a broom. The door latch was for a long 
time of wood, lifted by pulling a string hanging out- 
side. Hence the hospitable invitation used to be : 
" Come over and see us ! We keep the latchstring 



Everyday Life in Colonial Times, 



35 



out." At niglit tlie string was drawn in, and that 
locked the door. 

As there were no friction matches, fire was started 
by striking a spark with flint and steel, which was 
caught on a bit of half- 
burned rag, and then brought 
to a blaze with a splinter of 
wood tipped w^ith sulphur. 
On a cold morning, if one's 
fire was out and these tools 
were not at hand, the resort 
was to send a boy to a 
neighbor for a brand! 

128. How our Forefathers 
clothed themselves. — The -, 
clothing worn by men, 
women, and children was ,, 

Night Watchman announcing 

nearly all home-made from the Capture of Cornwallis. 
the wool of their own sheep. 

It was a matter of pride with a good housewife to 
supply all the nice warm clothes needed by her 
family, and the daughters were brought up to card 
and spin and weave clothing, bedding, and table linen. 
After a time very fine linen was made, especially 
by the Scotch-Irish settlers who were skillful in 
raising flax and in weaving linen. We may safely 




136 The Story of American History, 

infer that the women of those days were obliged to 
work early and late to provide warm clothing for 
themselves and oftentimes for large families. In fact 
it was for many years regarded as almost a disgrace 
to purchase clothing which might have been made at 
home. 

But some were disposed to shine in apparel more 
showy than their purses could afford or their rank 
allow. All such victims of personal vanity were liable 
to be ordered to appear before the court ; for any per- 
son whose estate was less than a thousand dollars was 
"forbidden to wear gold or silver lace, or any lace 
above two shillings a yard." Once a " goodwife " by 
the name of Alice Flynt was required to show that 
she was worth money enough to be able to wear a 
silk hood. But the woman proved that she was, and 
she was allowed to wear her finery in triumph. In 
like manner, "goodman " Jonas Fairbanks was arrested 
for wearing " great boots," meaning boots with high 
tops that turned over showy red. He too escaped 
punishment and continued to sport his extravagance. 

129. How the Wealthier People lived. — But after a while 
in the cities, the really wealthy, of whom there were 
not a few, often dressed in fine style. Gentlemen 
when fully equipped wore three-cornered cocked hats, 
long velvet coats, embroidered silk waistcoats with flaps 



Everyday Life in Colonial Times. 



^Zl 



weighted with lead, breeches coming only to the knees, 
long silk stockings, and pointed shoes adorned with 

Stately men wore their hair 



ti 



'"■"fi 



large silver buckles, 
powdered, a long r~ 
queue hanging 
down the back, 
where it was tied 
with a black rib- 
bon. The cloth- 
ing was often en- 
riched with gold 
and silver lace, 
and glittering 
buttons. A mass 
of lace ruffles 
adorned the wrists 
and flowed over 
the hands. The 
street cloak glis- 
tened with gold 
lace, while a gold- 
headed cane and a s^old snuff-box confirmed the 
wearer's title to rank as a gentleman. 

Ladies of wealth in the city wore rich heavy silk 
over stiff hoops, and towering hats adorned with tall 
feathers, with hair massed and powdered as if with 




Hospitality in a Southern Mansion. 



138 The Story of Avtcrican History. 

snowflakes. All the fashions of high life were very 
exacting and precise. The wealth and style of the 
cities were displayed in the fine houses, the heavy, 
rich furniture imported from England, the massive 
silver plate of the tables, the luxurious living, and 
the choice wines. 

The forms of address, too, showed the social rank. 
The terms " lady " and " gentleman " were applied 
only to persons of recognized standing. Our every- 
day title of " Mr." was conferred only upon ministers 
and the officers of the law, and upon their sons if 
college bred. The title " Mrs." was limited to the 
wives of prominent men. But if Mr. John Smith 
was proved guilty of any offense, as theft or lying, he 
was always afterwards known only as John Smith. 
For ordinary people above the grade of servants the 
title of " Goody " was in common use, meaning either 
" Goodman " or " Goodwife." 



CHAPTER X. 

THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION. 

130. Our Forefathers, Men of Rare Ability and Sterling 
Character. — Many of our forefathers who had been 
driven from England to this country by persecution 
were men of rare abiHty and sterling character. Some 
had served their nation with credit in the army ; others 
had won social and political honors. Independent in 
their way of thinking, fearless in speech and action, 
they were sternly opposed to governmental oppres- 
sion. They believed that royal power should be held 
within well-defined limits. They would not tamely 
submit, as many did, to abuses from a bad government 
and tyrannical kings. 

131. The Story of their Wrongs told to their Children. — 
Now we may safely believe that the early settlers told 
their children all about the persecutions in England. 
The young folks learned well the sad tale of how 
their fathers had been punished, and some of their 
neighbors hanged or burned alive for worshiping God 
in what they thought the right way, and how, for this 
reason, they had sought a shelter in the New World. 

139 



140 The Story of American History. 

As the years passed, these children grew up to be 
men, and in their turn they told it all to their sons. 
Again, when the new generation came upon the stage 
of action, the fathers repeated it to their boys, and 
these, when they attained manly strength, became the 
very heroes that fought so bravely at Bunker Hill and 
King's Mountain and on many another battlefield ! 

132. A Feeling of Brotherhood among the Colonies. — Then 
there was a sense of freedom, an inspiration to liberty, 
in this open, unsubdued, apparently boundless land. 
The free ocean, the immense forests, the eternal moun- 
tains, all seemed to teach that here man was to be 
his own master ; that in this wide, new country, the 
people were destined to rule themselves, and not 
bound to obey some stupid and obstinate kfng three 
thousand miles away. 

•The colonies along the coast, having the same lan- 
guage, with similar laws and customs, and having 
shared like sufferings from hunger and cold and the 
Indians, were naturally drawn together by a feeling 
of brotherhood. 

133. Cruel and Short-Sighted Policy of the Royal Governors. 
— Before long there came up real grievances. One 
fact that diminished the affection of our forefathers 
for the mother country was the harsh treatment they 
received from many of the governors sent over by 



The Beginning of the Revolution, 1 4 1 

the king. For the colonies were not allowed to elect 
their own governors, nor could they choose even the 
governor's council of advisers. These were appointed 
by the monarch far away, who cared little for the 
Americans except to extort money from them. 

Indeed, the English king seemed to think almost 
anybody would do for governor who contrived to 
wring money enough out of his distant subjects. 
Many of the royal governors were self-conceited, 
arrogant, and tyrannical. Consequently in some of 
the colonies there was almost incessant quarreling 
between the governors and the people. By and hy 
the colonies came to be treated, not as a part of the 
home country, but as a sort of foreign district to 
furnish a royal revenue. 

134. The Colonies begin to prosper. — Notwithstanding 
all their hardships, the colonies prospered. The 
people were wonderfully enterprising. They built 
ships and made a great deal of money by trading 
with the West Indies, France, Spain, and other coun- 
tries. The New Englanders alone had over five 
hundred vessels engaged in domestic and foreign 
commerce and in profitable fisheries. 

The early colonists were inger.Ious. They built 
and ran a saw-mill a hundred years before one w^as 
erected in England. They exported great quantities 



142 The Story of Ameidcan History. 

of excellent lumber. They began very early to manu- 
facture farmer's tools, leather, boots and shoes, woolen 
cloth, hats, glass, paper, salt, and gunpowder. The 
sale of these goods and of many other things pro- 
duced by them made a profitable trade. In return 
the colonists bought in distant lands a great amount 
and variety of other merchandise. 

135. The British Government begins its Tyrannical Policy. 
— But the English rulers, seeing all this prosperity, 
became jealous and said : " This will never do ! We 
must stop it ! Those distant colonists across the 
ocean are driving a great trade ; the foreign nations 
they deal with get their money. We must have it ; 
we must compel them to do all their trading with us." 
And that is what the English government tried to 
do. By 1750 not less than twenty-nine Acts of Par- 
liament had been passed with the intent to have all of 
the loss in trade fall on the colonies and all the gain 
come to England. 

In 1 76 1 it was decided to enforce the so-called 
Navigation Acts, forbidding the colonies to have any 
foreign commerce except in British ships. Our colo- 
nial merchants were not allowed to export goods, nor 
to import any except from England or her colonies. 
They must not import any sugar or molasses without 
paying on it a heavy duty, which went to the king. 



The Beginrmig of the Revohitiou. 143 

Under these unjust laws the British traders could 
fix low prices on all they bought, and high prices 
on all they sold, and thus by this double-edged 
method could shape their profits to suit them- 
selves. 

136. Other Absurd and Tyrannical Laws. — Still more 
odious than these navigation laws were other absurd 
and tyrannical regulations made to cripple the indus- 
tries and manufactures of the colonies. The fact was, 
the English Parliament meant that England's work- 
shops should do all the manufacturing, her merchants 
all the trading, and her ships all the carrying for the 
colonies, that they might keep in England all the 
immense profits of the colonial trade. 

To bring this about, laws were passed forbidding 
the manufacture of all such goods as English shops 
could produce. For instance, iron must not be made 
from the abundant mines of our country. We must 
buy all our hardware from. England. It was a crime 
to use the wool from our ow^n sheep in making w^oolen 
goods, and we were forbidden to sell these articles 
from one colony to another. For example, a Boston 
hatter could be punished if he sold his hats in New 
York. Men were forbidden to cut down trees on 
their own lands for staves and barrels. For wooden 
ware, as chairs, tables, wheels, wagons, the raw mate- 



144 The Story of American History. 

rial must be sent to England to be worked up, and 
the finished goods brought back to this country. 

137. A Bitter Feeling aroused against the Home Government. 
— Now all these laws seemed very harsh and unjust. 
And, indeed, they were well-nigh intolerable. They 
crippled and almost ruined the business of the colo- 
nies, and violated what our forefathers regarded as 
their natural right to make what they pleased and 
sell where they pleased. 

These laws were so unjust that our forefathers 
thought there w^as not much wrong in evading them. 
They smuggled goods and carried them home. 
British officers went around and searched houses 
from cellar to attic, often with rudeness and insults. 
This conduct created much bitterness of feeling. 
Pine trees of twelve inches or more in diameter 
were marked with the " king's arrow," which showed 
that they were to be saved for use in the navy. It 
was a criminal offense to cut down any such. How- 
ever much a settler might need them to build his 
house, he was forbidden to touch them. In fact, be- 
fore he cleared his land, he had to pay an officer to 
come and make the arrow mark on the king's trees ! 

These unjust and absurd statutes produced a vast 
deal of ill-will toward England. If they had been 
strictly enforced, no doubt the Revolution would have 



The Beginning of the Revolution. 



145 



come several years before it did. And yet there was 
also much friendly feeling for the mother country. 
The friends and relatives of the colonists still lived 
there, letters were constantly exchanged, and hundreds 
of people coming and going every year kept up an 
affection between the two countries. Our people in 
those times always called England " home." 

138. The Obnoxious Stamp Act. — There came at last 
one event which, of all the troubles, hastened the 
Revolution. The French and Indian War had cost 
both England and the colonies a 
great deal of money. King George 
wanted to compel the colonies to 
pay part of this expense, and ac- 
cordingly Parliament passed in 1765 
the " Stamp Act," the most un- 
popular measure ever tried with the 
colonists. This law required that 
stamped paper should be used for all bills, bonds, 
notes, wills, and deeds, and even for all pamphlets, 
almanacs, and newspapers. 

Stamps for this purpose had to be bought of stamp 
ofHcers appointed by the king. They were for the 
most part not unlike our revenue stamps. One kind 
was a red-ink seal, made with a hand stamp ; the other 
a seal on blue paper, to be fastened on the article. 




British Stamp, 



146 The Story of American History. 

The cost varied from one cent to fifty dollars each. 
No document was legal unless stamped. 

Our people at once saw that if England could levy 
taxes in this way, she could in many other ways, 
and there would be no end to such high-handed and 
tyrannical laws. Besides, there were no American 
representatives in Parliament, and Americans had no 
voice at all in the matter. They felt that the tax thus 
laid upon them was wrong. They did not object to 
paying the cost of a trifling tax. They felt bound 
to resist the rank injustice of the demand. It was 
not the amount but the principle at stake. 

139. The Indignation of the People. — The people were 
aroused. A storm of indignation swept over the 
land. Violent opposition broke out along the entire 
length of the colonies. They pledged themselves to 
stand by each other. The cry passed through the 
land : " No taxation without representation ! " This 
became the watchword of the country. They did not 
wish to avoid paying a fair assessment in a fair way ; 
but they insisted that, as always before, their own 
legislatures and not Parliament should levy the con- 
tribution. Our forefathers declared over and over 
again that they would not be taxed by a governing 
body three thousand miles away, whose members had 
never seen America. 



The Beginning of the Revolution. 



147 



140. Patrick Henry and his Bold Speech. — One day the 
Virginia Assembly was in session. Washington was 
there in his seat, and Jefferson, then a young law 
student, stood listening at the door. Patrick Henry 
stoutly argued that Vir- 
ginia was not bound to 
obey any law which was 
plainly a menace to the 
common freedom of Eng- 
lishmen. 

" Caesar had his Brutus," 
said the bold and eloquent 
orator ; " Charles the First 
his Cromwell, and George 
the Third " — 

" Treason ! " shouted the 
Speaker of the Assembly, 
and the cry, " Treason, 
treason ! " rang through 
the room. 

The intrepid patriot finished his sentence: "may 
profit by their example. If that be treason, make the 
most of it ! " 

141. The People combine to resist the Hated Law. — The 
people combined to resist, and a stamp-tax congress 
was held in New York. Lovers of liberty would not 




Patrick Henry's Bold Speech. 



148 



The Story of American History. 



deal in stamped goods. They refused to buy a single 
stamp. Riots occurred at the stamp offices. Pack- 
ages of stamps were seized, and some were publicly 
burned in the streets. Boxes of stamped paper arriv- 
ing in vessels were seized and thrown overboard. 
Publishers of newspapers decorated their headlines 
with skull and cross-bones instead of stamps. Stamp 

officers were dragged out 
and compelled to swear 
they would not sell any 
stamps. 

On the day for the law 
to take effect, funeral bells 
were tolled, flags were at 
half-mast, and shops were 
closed. New England, 
New York, Virginia, and 
the Carolinas all felt alike 
and acted alike. William Pitt, also called the Earl of 
Chatham, one of the greatest of Englishmen, took his 
stand on the side of the colonies in a speech of sur- 
passing eloquence and power. The hated law was 
repealed in just one year from its passage. 

This happy news was received both in England 
and in America with bonfires, ringing of bells, and 
universal rejoicings. But the joy was short-lived. 




Patrick Henry. 



The Beginning of the Revolution. 149 

King George, " industrious as a beaver and obstinate 
as a mule," and his followers in Parliament were not 
slow to pick a fresh quarrel with the Americans. 

The next year the English Parliament made a law 
requiring duties to be paid on paper, glass, paints, and 
tea. Again the liberty-loving Americans were a unit 
in opposing any kind of taxation that seemed to them 
illegal. Some of the legislatures protested to Parlia- 
ment, and King George answered by breaking up the 
legislatures. The people indignantly refused to buy 
any goods at all from England while these taxes were 
demanded. English traders found their business going 
to ruin. Ships came loaded with British goods, and 
had to carry them back. 

142. Bitter Hatred of the British Soldiers. — So bitter 
was the opposition in Boston that a regiment of 
British troops was sent there to force the people to 
submit even at the point of the bayonet. But a brave 
people, determined to be free, is not so easily forced. 

The citizens of Boston were ordered to furnish 
lodging and food for the soldiers. They would not 
do it — not they ! Their hatred of the soldiers grew 
more bitter. Brawls often occurred on the streets. 
The soldiers on their part began to be insulting. 

143. Boston Boys stand up for their Rights. — Even the 
children took part in the quarrels, as an incident will 



50 



The Story of American History. 



show. During the winter the boys used to build snow- 
slides on Boston Common and slide down upon them 
to the frog pond. The English soldiers destroyed 
these slides, merely to provoke the boys. The young 
Americans complained of the injury 
and set about repairing it. However, 
when they, returned from school, they 
found the snow-slides destroyed again. 

Several of the boys 
now waited upon one of 
the under- officers, and 
told him of the conduct 
of his soldiers ; but he 
would have nothing to 
say to them ; and the 
soldiers were more im- 
pudent than ever. At 
last the boys called a 
meeting and sent a com- 
mittee of the largest of 
their number to General Gage, the commander-in-chief. 
He asked why so many boys had called upon him. 

" We came, sir," said the tallest, " to demand satis- 
faction." 

" What ! " said the general ; " have your fathers been 
teaching you rebellion, and sent you to show it here ? " 




The Boston Boys make their Pro- 
test TO General Gage. 



The Beginning of the Revolution. 1 5 1 

" Nobody sent us, sir/' he answered, while his cheek 
reddened and his eye flashed. " We have never in- 
jured nor insulted your troops ; but they have trodden 
down our snow-slides and broken the ice on the pond. 
We complained and they called us young rebels and 
told us to help ourselves if we could. We told one 
of your officers of this, and he laughed at us. Yes- 
terday our slides were destroyed for the third time ; 
and, sir, we will bear it no longer." 

General Gage was a kind-hearted and courteous 
gentleman. He looked at them w^ith admiration, and 
said to an officer at his side : " The very children 
draw in a love of liberty with the air they breathe. 
You may go, my brave boys ; and be assured, if my 
soldiers trouble you again, they shall be punished." 

144. The Boston Massacre. — One night in March (1770) 
some soldiers stationed in Boston got into a quarrel, 
and the noise increased until the guard was called 
out. As the platoon of regulars drew up in line, 
most of the crowd fell back. 

A few remained and reviled the red-coat soldiers, 
shouting, " Lobster-backs ! Fire if you dare, you 
cowards ! You don't dare to fire ! " 

Captain Preston, the ofiicer in command, gave the 
word, " Fire ! " The regulars fired. 

Five men were killed and several wounded. There 



152 The Story of A merican History. 

was now intense excitement in Boston. The Old 
South Church was crowded with an angry town- 
meeting. Thousands filled the streets near by. 
The people demanded that the troops be removed. 
The governor promised to remove one regiment. 
" Both regiments or none," was the watchword. 

Samuel Adams waited upon the governor, and 
stretching forth his long right arm, and pointing his 
finger at him, he sternly demanded, in the name of 
three thousand freemen, that the royal governor 
remove every British soldier from Boston. 

" I observed his knees to tremble," said the stern 
patriot in after years ; " I saw his face grow pale — 
and I enjoyed the sight." 

Before sunset of the same day the British troops 
were removed from the city and sent to a fort in the 
harbor. Not until then did the meeting in the Old 
South break up. 

This unfortunate affair was the so-called " Boston 
Massacre." It did more to mould public opinion 
than weeks of vigorous protest and fine argument 
could have done. It was one step, and an important 
one too, toward the final appeal to the sword and 
the bayonet. 

145. The Famous Boston Tea Party. — In view of all 
these troubles, England took off the taxes from 



The Beginning of the Revolution. 153 

everything but tea. King George said he must have 
one tax to maintain the principle of the right of taxa- 
tion. But the colonists refused to drink tea imported 
from China ! The women were patriotic and made 
their tea of raspberry leaves, sage, and other plants, 
rather than use the hated foreign article. 

But the government of England was determined we 
should buy tea, and the merchants sent shiploads of it 
to our large cities. The Americans were firm. They 
vowed that not an ounce of it should land. There 
was only a few cents' tax on each pound. What our 
people disputed was the right of the king to tax. 
When the tea reached New York and Philadelphia, 
none dared to receive it, lest their houses should 
be pulled down about their heads. In Charleston, 
S. C, some was taken ashore, but as no one would 
buy it or pay the duty, it was hid in damp cellars, 
where it soon spoiled. In Annapolis it was burned. 

At Boston warning was several times given to the 
masters of the ships to sail out of the harbor. On 
the last day before the tea must be landed or be pre- 
vented by force from landing, a town-meeting was 
held in the Old South Church. The crowd in the 
church, and in the streets about it, numbered more 
than seven thousand people. " It was to be," says 
John Fiske, "one of the most momentous days in the 



154 The Story of American History. 

history of the world." The discussion continued until 
dark, and candles were brought in. It was decided 
that the tea should not be landed. 

" Who knows," shouted one in the audience, " how 
tea will mix with salt water .-^ " 

The church fairly shook with cheers. 

Then up rose Samuel Adams and quickly said : 
" This meeting can do nothing more to save the 
country." 

This was the signal. A war-whoop was heard out- 
side the door, and forty or fifty men, disguised as 
Indians, went quietly aboard the three vessels, and 
before the nine-o clock bell rang three hundred and 
forty-two chests of tea had been cut open and their 
contents emptied into Boston Harbor. This was the 
famous " Boston Tea Party " we have so often heard 
of, and it took place in the middle of December in 
1773. A large crowd of the friends of these men 
stood on shore until the deed was done, and then, 
without doing any other injury to property, all sepa- 
rated and went home in the clear, frosty moonlight. 

The next morning there was not a chest of taxed 
tea in Boston, on shipboard or on shore, and Paul 
Revere was riding post haste to Philadelphia to let 
the good people of that city know that Boston had at 
last thrown down the gauntlet. 



The Beginning of the Revolution. 155 

One of the " Indians " found a handful of tea in his 
shoe the next morning. He carefully saved it and 
sealed it in a bottle. It is still shown as a souvenir 
of this informal " tea party " in Boston harbor. 

One rash fellow, probably thinking that his family 
would like a good drink of real tea, cut open the 
lining of his coat and waistcoat, and, watching his 
chance, filled them with tea; but he was caught in 
the act and handled pretty roughly. 

146. Attempts to punish Boston. — " Boston shall be 
punished," said King George w^hen he heard of the 
" tea party." Parliament passed the " Boston Port 
Bill." By this act the port of Boston was closed. 
No vessel could go in or out except under 'the most 
rigid conditions. The object of course was to frighten 
or force the Boston people into yielding to the royal 
power. 

Near-by towns and the other colonies came to their 
help by sending food and other needed articles. The 
southern colonies sent flour and rice, the middle fur- 
nished corn and money, and many towns sent sheep 
and cattle. One town in Connecticut sent a flock of 
two hundred and fifty sheep. Marblehead sent fish, 
and other towns grain. 

Warm sympathy came from Virginia. " If need 
be," said Washington, " I will raise a thousand men, 



156 Tlie Story of Afnerican History. 

subsist them at my own expense, and march myself 
at their head for the relief of Boston." In fact all 
the colonies took up the cause of Boston as their 
own. Of course the blockade made great hardship 
for the poor. There was much suffering from the 
scarcity of fuel and food. Still the people, as resolute 
as their leaders, made little complaint and caused no 
disorder. 

Dr. Joseph Warren overheard some British officers 
boast that if a patriot ever addressed the people again 
in the Old South Church, he would surely lose his 
life. This was enough. Warren begged the honor. 
The church was so crowded that he had to get a 
ladder and climb in through a window at the back 
of the pulpit. Many British officers were present 
who annoyed the speaker with groans and hisses. 
The fearless patriot, however, made a stirring speech 
" on the baneful influence of standing armies in time 
of peace." 

147. The Home Government adopts Stringent Measures. — 
The charter of Massachusetts was annulled, and its 
free government taken away. General Gage, the com- 
mander of the British army in America, was ordered 
to Boston with several regiments and was appointed 
military governor with despotic power. Cannon were 
mounted on the heights, tents pitched on the Com- 



The Beginning of the Revolution. 1 5 7 

mon, and companies of red-coats were marching to 
and fro in the streets. 

The effect was exactly what the wisest men in 
Parliament had predicted. They had said that the 
colonies would unite more firmly, and that the Ameri- 
can people would be driven into open rebellion. 
Kine Georg^e was obstinate and used all his influence 
to push the most obnoxious Acts through Parliament. 

148. The First Continental Congress. — The first Conti- 
nental Congress held its first meeting at Philadelphia 
in September, 1774. The ablest men of the colonies 
were sent as delegates. They forwarded to the king 
a candid statement of their grievances. It did no 
good. Massachusetts was declared in a state of 
rebellion. In truth, it looked like it. 

Such a condition of affairs could not last long. 
The feeling was intense against the king and his 
all-powerful friends. Arguments were useless. The 
royal authority was boldly and stubbornly defied. 
The sword and the bayonet must now decide whether 
king or people were to rule in America. 

" The contest may be severe, but the end will be 
glorious," said the martyr-patriot Warren, who soon 
after fell at Bunker Hill. 



CHAPTER XL 

LEXINGTON AND CONCORD. 

149. The Patriots prepare for War. — When General 
Gage began to increase slowly the number of troops 
in Boston, and especially when he began to fortify 
Boston Neck, it was plain enough that this meant 
war. The people on their part began to prepare 
anxiously for the coming struggle. Every one felt 
that desperate times were near at hand. The patriots 
quickly collected arms and ammunition and, having 
packed them in loads of hay and similar disguises to 
deceive the British spies, sent them for safe keeping to 
Concord, about sixteen miles northwest of Boston. 

150. Gage forms Plans to capture Military Stores. — Gen- 
eral Gage soon learned this, and made secret prepa- 
rations to capture these supplies. Inasmuch as in 
previous expeditions of this kind he had met with 
failure, the advantage of a surprise was this time to 
be increased by the presence of a large force. The 
Americans, however, were quite as keen of sight and 
hearing as their enemies, and had even more reason 

to keep a sharp lookout. 

158 



Lexington and Concord. 159 

About midnight on the i8th of April, 1775, Gage 
quietly sent out from Boston nearly eight hundred 
soldiers. He had two objects in view ; to seize the 
military stores at Concord, and to arrest Samuel 
Adams and " his ready and willing tool," that " terrible 
desperado," John Hancock. 

Gage thought the start of his midnight soldiers was 
quite unknown to the Americans. He never sus- 
pected that Warren and other vigilant patriots had 
been watching every movement, and were determined 
to thwart his plans. At about ten or eleven o'clock, 
two hours before the British soldiers embarked, a 
signal lantern hung out of the belfry of the Old 
North Church in Boston, and in a few minutes an- 
other by its side — " One, if by land, and two, if by 
sea " — flashed the tidings of the coming expedition. 

151. The Country about Boston aroused. — An hour or 
tvv^o before the British troops began to cross in boats 
to Charlestown, two horsemen, who had been watch- 
ing for the lantern lights in the steeple, dashed out 
on swift steeds by different roads towards Lexington 
and Concord : William Dawes went like an arrow 
over Boston Neck, and then through Roxbury and 
Watertown, while Paul Revere across the water sped 
as if on wings from Charlestown. Their swift horses' 
hoofs clattered sharply in the quiet of this beautiful 



1 60 The Story of A mericau History, 

night, striking fire from the stones in the darkness. 

But at almost every house they paused a moment 

to arouse the sleepers. '' Wake up ! " they shouted. 

Windows flew open. 

" What 's the matter } " — " What 's the mat-ter } " 
" Matter enough, you '11 find, by daylight ! " was the 

hurried reply. " The British are coming ! " 

152. The Night March to Concord. — Meanwhile the 
British soldiers were marching along rapidly through 
the cool April night. They made no noise. There 
was no drumbeat ; the ofiicers gave their commands 
almost in whispers. Only the clatter of the horses' 
hoofs and the steady tramp of the marching men 
broke the silence. When day dawned they ap- 
proached the village of Lexington, ten miles from 
Boston and about two-thirds of the way to Concord. 
They were not entirely surprised to find, even so 
early, a squad of armed minute-men awaiting them, 
for they had heard church bells ringing and had seen, 
all along their march, lights moving to and fro in the 
farm houses. 

153. The Patriots make a stand at Lexington. — The 
British arrived at Lexington about half-past four. 
Ready to meet them were some sixty or seventy men 
drawn up on the village green close beside the meet- 
ing-house, with loaded guns. As they stood there, 



Lexington and Concord. 



6i 



silent and fearless, on that sweet spring morning, 
April 19, 1775, their leader, Captain John Parker, 
who fifteen years before had climbed the Heights of 
Abraham by the side of Wolfe, addressed them briefly. 

" Stand your 
ground. Don't 
fire unless fired 
upon," said Par- 
ker ; " but if they 
mean to have a 
war, let it begin 
here ! " Seventy 
men against 
eight hundred ! 
War it was, and 
itdidbeo^in there. 

Major Pitcairn, 
who soon after- 
wards fell at Bunker Hill, rode up and cried out: — 

" Disperse, you villains ! Throw down your arms, 
you rebels, and go home ! " 

He then discharged his pistol and, turning to his 
soldiers, cried, " Fire ! " Instantly flashed out the first 
volley of the Revolutionary War, and eight of the 
farmer minute-men fell dead ! 

The number of the Americans was so small in pro- 




Paul Revere's Ride. 



1 62 The Story of American History. 

portion to that of the British that the only sensible 
course was to retreat. They retired with a few part- 
ing shots at the enemy. Then the red-coats, giving 
three cheers, marched on towards Concord, six miles 
fa'/ther. 

The patriots at Concord had the day before received 
some hint of the proposed capture, and had removed 
most of the military stores to the woods. The British 
found two cannon, which they spiked, and some can- 
non balls and gunpowder, which they threw into the 
river. Then they destroyed a quantity of flour, cut 
down the liberty-pole, and set fire to the courthouse. 

154. The Fight at Concord Bridge. — While they were 
busy doing this, fresh minute-men, about four hun- 
dred in number, were coming in from all the ad- 
joining towns. They gathered near the old North 
Bridge to drive away some regulars who had begun 
to take up the planks. As the militia approached, 
the British soldiers fired and killed several. Among 
the dead was Captain Isaac Davis. Long after life 
was extinct, the fingers of this brave patriot, as if still 
true to his purpose, held firm grasp on his gun. 

Major Buttrick, a leader among the soldier-farmers, 
shouted, " Fire, fellow-soldiers ! Fire ! " Obedient to 
this order, the Americans in return "fired the shot 
heard round the world ! " The regulars fell back in 



Lexington and Concord. 



i6 




confusion. The minute-men held the bridge, and the 
enemy began a hasty retreat. 

Our men were 
too few in number ^ 

to join in a square 
pitched battle 
with the trained 
British soldiers ; 
but as soon as 
these began to 
withdraw, the 
patriots followed 
them closely and 
kept up a brisk 
discharge of mus- 
ketry. The pre- 
vious volleys and 
the bell - ringing 
had aroused the 
whole adjacent 
country, and fresh 
men came pour- 
ing in from every 

side. Most of them were without their coats ; but 
they had guns in their hands and they knew how to 
use them. 




Tke Minute-Men attacking the British 
Regulars on the Retreat. 



164 The Story of American Histoiy. 

155. The British begin their Retreat. — Occasionally the 
retreating soldiers would stop and shoot back, and 
then hurry on and even run, to escape the deadly 
bullets. Soon the minute-men, leaping over the stone 
walls, ran on ahead, or, cutting across at some bend of 
the road, got a long distance in advance. Then as 
the column came on, the Americans, from behind 
barns, trees, rocks, and walls, would pour a storm of 
shot into the staggering ranks. So from right and 
left, behind and before, came in showers the fatal balls 
of the minute-men. A British officer afterwards said, 
" It seemed as if men dropped from the clouds." 

You remember Longfellow's description : — 

How the British regulars fired and fled. 
How the farmers gave them ball for ball. 
From behind each fence and farm-yard wall, 
Chasing the red-coats down the lane, 
Then crossing the fields to emerge again, 
Under the trees at the turn of the road, 
And pausing only to fire and load. 

The British suffered fearfully in this six-mile march. 
The weather was as sultry as in midsummer, and the 
dust was suffocating. They had been on the road 
without food or water from midnight to noon. They 
were worn and exhausted, and the ceaseless shot of 
the Americans, who were all trained to the use of the 



Lexington a7id Concord. 165 

rifle, brought down some of the regulars at almost 
every step. To go on was perilous, to pause long 
was fatal. Dead and wounded men and horses lay 
all along the road. 

Thus beset, the British pushed on, hurrying back 
over the dreadful distance till they reached Lexing- 
ton. Here they were rejoiced to find a thousand sol- 
diers sent out from Boston under Lord Percy to meet 
them.. These had marched out of Boston to the tune 
of Yankee Doodle ! They were formed in a hollow 
square, and into this shelter rushed the runaway red- 
coats, falling upon the green grass from pure exhaus- 
tion, " with their tongues hanging out of their mouths, 
like dogs after a chase." Lord Percy allowed a rest 
of only about half an hour, knowing very well that the 
longer he delayed the greater would be the increas- 
ing swarm of armed men gathering around him. 

156. The Panic-stricken British Regulars at last reach the 
Shelter of the Men-of-War. — The British commander 
had now in all nearly eighteen hundred men, and he 
made straight for Charlestown, the nearest point of 
safety. But in spite of this large force, the minute- 
men with their unerring aim kept on his flanks, pick- 
ing off the regulars, especially the oflicers, all along 
the road. In vain the oflicers threatened ; the men 
ran like sheep. At sunset the British reached Charles- 



1 66 The Story of American Histo7y. 

town and found themselves safe under the shelter of 
their men-of-war. 

If Percy's reinforcements had not come up, all the 
British soldiers that started back from Concord would 
have been killed or taken prisoners. The king's 
regulars had been driven in rout and almost panic 
before the stout-hearted minute-men. Well might 
General Gage feel keenly the disgrace. 

The loss on both sides at Lexington and Concord 
was small. Most of the fighting took place on the 
retreat, where the loss of the Americans was about 
fifty killed and forty-three wounded, w^hile the British 
lost in all two hundred and seventy-three men. 

157. What the Eventful Day showed. — Thus began and 
ended one of the most eventful days in the history of 
our country. It witnessed the opening conflict of the 
American Revolution. 

When that sturdy patriot, Samuel Adams, heard 
the crackle of the musketry, he exclaimed, " What a 
glorious morning is this ! " He knew that the time 
had come when the people must draw the sword. 

The Americans had now shown that they could 
fight. They saw the promptness with which they 
could assemble, and they felt that, if need were, they 
could defend themselves. The British also learned 
that the American farmers could fight, and that, too, 



Lexington and Concord. 167 

on the spur of the moment. They found that the 
colonies were not to be frightened into submission. 
It became plain to each side that very serious work 
was near at hand. The grim figure of war cast its 
long black shadow into the future. 

The shots of these resolute farmers echoed far and 
wide. They told the whole world that a people stood 
ready to give their lives in defense of their rights ; 
that they fought after their own fashion, and they 
fought hard. 

158. The Minute-Men; the Work they did, and how they 
did it. — The minute-men were bands of enrolled patri- 
ots pledged to start at a minute's notice to a call for 
their services. They had few good weapons, mostly 
shotguns for hunting birds and squirrels. They were 
short of powder and ball. In many of the families 
the women melted or pounded up their pewter spoons 
and dishes into bullets and slugs. 

The minute-men were numerous in every town, and 
when the alarm was given, they would leave plow or 
shop, hurry home, take down the gun from its hooks 
over the fireplace, bid good-by to wife and children, 
and be off to help their country in its peril. 

Israel Putnam, in leather frock and apron, was at 
work in a field on his farm in Connecticut when he 
heard of Lexington. Leaving the plow^ in the fur- 



1 68 The Story of American History. 

row, he jumped on his horse and rode the hundred or 
more miles to Cambridge in eighteen hours. John 

Stark was at 
work in his 
saw-mill in 
New Hamp- 
shire when the 
news of Lex- 
ington came. 
He stopped the 
Qiill, hurried 
Kome, took 
down his rifle, 
and rode on 
horseback to 
Cambridge. In 
his haste he 
even forgot to 
put on his 
coat ! 

Every town 
had a company 
or two of min- 
ute-men and 




The FrtHT at Concord Bridge. 



of militia soldiers, who regularly met and drilled. 
The soldiers and the officers of these companies were 



Lexi^igton and Concord. 169 

usually the best citizens of the towns. Thirty-one 
towns were represented among the patriots who 
hastened to the fight on the nineteenth of April. 

159. Tablets now shown along this Historic Road. — If 
some day we should take a ride over this very road, 
we should notice along the way numerous landmarks 
of that famous contest — carved monuments, houses 
with bullet holes carefully preserved, bronze tablets on 
houses, marking some spot of special interest. At 
Fiske's Hill, in Lexington, an inscription records 
that at a well near by two soldiers met to drink. The 
British grenadier raised his gun and said to James 
Hay ward, " You are a dead man ! " " And so are 
you ! " replied the minute-man. Both fired ; one was 
instantly killed, and the other mortally wounded. 

On Lexington Common we should see a stately 
monument with a long inscription reciting the event. 

At Concord Bridge would be seen a noble statue of 
the Minute-Man, beneath which on the pedestal are 
Emerson's famous verses : — 

Here once the embattled farmers stood, 
And fired the shot heard round the world. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

160. More Regulars sent to Boston. — The battle of 
Lexington, fought as we have read, on the nineteenth 
of April, 1775, was a most momentous event, since it 
showed for the first time the resolute purpose of the 
Americans to draw the sword and defend themselves 
from British oppression. The news reached England 
near the end of May. Those Lexington muskets 
said plainer than words that the colonies would not 
submit to unjust taxation. 

Fully aware that the situation was becoming serious, 
the British government sent a large number of fresh 
troops to reinforce the garrison in Boston. These 
came under the command of Generals Howe, Clin- 
ton, and Burgoyne, and made in all an army of about 
ten thousand men. 

161. A Patriot Army is gathered around Boston. — The 
patriots, too, were gathering in large numbers around 
Boston. They came by hundreds from all directions. 
Quite a large body was from Connecticut under Colonel 

(afterwards General) Israel Putnam. General Ward 

170 



The Battle of Bunker Hill. 



171 



was commander of these forces until Washington 
arrived at Cambridge on July 3, 1775, and first took 
command of the American army under the old elm. 

On the twelfth of June, General Gage issued a 
proclamation declaring all those in arms to be rebels 
and traitors, but 
offering pardon 
to all who would 
lay down their 
w^eapons and 
obey the British 
governor. Two, 
John Hancock 
and Samuel 
Adams, were ex- 
cepted. Their 
patriotism had 
been too intense 
and outspoken 
to be forgiven. 

The American army, now nearly twenty thousand 
strong, formed a line of encampments in a great semi- 
circle of sixteen miles, halfway around the city from 
Roxbury Neck to the Mystic River. They soon learned 
that Gage intended to break through the American 
lines into the country for a supply of provisions. 




Washington taking Command of 
Patriot Army. 



172 The Story of ATnerican History. 

162. Plans to checkmate the British. — General Ward, 
having discovered that the British were planning to 
sally forth through Charlestown, determined to strike 
first and so defeat their project. It was decided to 
seize and fortify some suitable hill in Charlestown. 
Colonel William Prescott, a well-tried soldier of the 
French- Indian wars, and grandfather of Prescott, the 
famous historian, was ordered, on the sixteenth of 
June, to march that night with nearly a thousand men 
to Bunker Hill and throw up breastworks. 

Soon after sunset the soldiers were formed in a 
hollow square on Cambridge Common, and President 
Langdon of Harvard College offered prayer. The 
good man then gave them his blessing and bade them 
" Godspeed." At nine o'clock they started on their 
silent march. At Charlestown Neck they met Gen- 
eral Putnam with more soldiers and wagon-loads of 
picks and shovels. 

163. Entrenched on Bunker Hill. — Prescott led them 
to the top of Bunker Hill. After consultation with 
his officers, he moved on through the darkness to 
Breed's Hill, which had a better command of the city 
and the shipping. The lines were soon staked out, 
and at midnight the farmer soldiers began their 
entrenchments. So rapidly did they work that 
the dim morning twilight disclosed a large square 



The Battle of Bunker Hill. 1 73 

of fresh trenches crowning the hill, with long wings 
stretching right and left. They had made a fort in a 
single night. 

How surprised the British were at the sight, as 
the sun rose on a beautiful summer morning ! They 
could scarcely believe their eyes. It seemed like a 
work of magic. A thousand men had shoveled as 
they never shoveled before, and not a British sentry 
had heard the click of their spades. They saw at 
once that the Americans, if they only had time 
enough to plant a battery of cannon there, could 
very soon drive them out of Boston. So the only 
thino- for them to do was to drive the Americans 
from that hill, and that too without delay. Accord- 
ingly, the British men-of-war, Lively and Falcon, and 
then the forts on Copp's Hill in Boston immediately 
opened fire. . 

Meanwhile some hundreds of fresh soldiers arrived 
to help the Americans, hungry and weary with their 
hard night's work. The shot and shell from ships 
and fort dropped around and among them, but they 
worked bravely on in the hot sunshine till nearly 
noon. At the left, on the northern slope of the hill, 
they moved some rail fences so as to build long double 
lines close together, and stuffed the space between 
with new-mown hay, making an excellent breastwork. 



174 T^^^^ Story of American History. 

164. The British prepare to storm the Entrenchments. — 

Things are now looking serious. The Americans 
can see and hear the British in Boston preparing 
for an attack. Prescott sends hurrying messengers 
to General Ward at the Cambridge headquarters for 
more soldiers. During the forenoon General Stark 
arrives with five hundred fresh New Hampshire 
troops, who were posted behind the rail fence on the 
extreme left. Next General Warren comes, and, lay- 
ing aside his rank, takes a place of danger among 
the troops. The combat hastens, and every minute 
throbs with emotion. 

Soon after one o'clock twenty-eight large boats are 
seen crossing over from Boston, loaded with soldiers 
and artillery. The Americans are now exchanging 
shovels for muskets and preparing for the foe. Now 
the red-coats are landing at the foot of the hill ! 
See ! they are forming in two columns, their bright 
cannon and muskets glistening in the hot sun. It is 
now about three o'clock in the afternoon. They 
begin to march up the hill ! 

General Howe's column is on our left, to break 
through the grass wall and push his way behind our 
forces. Their other column, under General Pigot, is 
marching up the hill to attack our redoubt in front. 
They are coming slowly in the hot sun of a bright 



The Battle of Bunker Hill. 1 75 

June afternoon. The artillery booms and crashes 
incessantly with a deafening roar. 

General Gage has ordered that Charlestown be set 
on fire, and the flames and smoke of five hundred 
burning buildings make a terrible scene. All the sur- 
rounding heights, house-tops, and spires are crowded 
with thousands of anxious spectators breathlessly 
watching the thrilling sight. 

" Here were sister, wife, and mother, looking wild upon each 

other, 
And their lips were white with terror as they said, ' The hour has 

COME ! ' " 

165. The Battle begins. — Behind those hasty breast- 
works fifteen hundred patriots lie silently awaiting 
the steady march of over three thousand trained 
British soldiers. Still on and up they toil, burdened 
with their heavy knapsacks, pausing to fire as they 
march. 

" Don't fire until I give the word," said Prescott ; 
" then fire low ! Pick off the ofiicers." 

Putnam shouted to his men : " Powder is scarce, 
boys, don't waste it ; wait till you see the whites of 
their eyes." 

When the red-coats came within about a hundred and 
fifty feet of the breastworks, suddenly came Prescott's 
sharp order: — "Fire!" Instantly a flash of flame 



176 The Story of American History. 

blazed along our entire line, and down fell the whole 
front of the advancing ranks. Under the ceaseless 
rain of bullets the British veterans gave way and 
retreated down the hillside in disorder. 

Then burst forth from our side a strong shout, the 
first ringing cry on this continent for national inde- 
pendence. But it was a sad sight — the long rows 
of dead and dying soldiers, mowed down as if by a 
sudden sweep of a giant scythe. 
" Oh, the sight our eyes discover as the blue-black smoke blows 

over ! 
The red-coats stretched in windrows as a mower rakes his hay." 

Inside the breastworks some were killed and many 
wounded. Prescott, Putnam, and Warren were pass- 
ing up and down the line, cheering and encouraging 
the patriots. 

166. The British beat a Hasty Retreat to their Boats. — 
The British olBcers rallied their troops as best they 
could. Death and wounds had thinned their number 
by hundreds, and the survivors were far from willing 
to make a second charge against that wall of fire. 
But the threats of the officers and even blows with 
their swords finally compelled them to it. 

Up they marched again, firing as they came, their 
ranks moving slowly, stepping over the bodies of 
their fallen comrades. 



The Battle of Bunker Hill. 



11 



" Wait, boys ! " shouted Warren. " Don't fire yet ! 
Wait." 

On they came as before, nearer and nearer, until 
the distance was less than thirty yards to our silent 
but fatal line, 
when instantly 
there burst forth 
another long- 
blaze of fire, even 
deadlier than 
before. 

The Americans 
were by practice 
good marksmen, 
and the bright red 
coats and shin- 
ing belts of the 
enemy made ex- 
cellent targets. 
The British re- 
turned the fire, 
and a brisk dis- 
charge of mus- 
ketry was kept 
up for a few minutes. But it was useless. Hun- 
dreds of their number fell dead on the fatal slope, 




Battle of Bunker Hill. 



178 The Story of Afnerican History. 

and in spite of their officers, the broken ranks stag- 
gered and retreated, flying in a panic to the shore. 
• 167. The British advance to the Third Attack. — Now all 
was fright and confusion among the British. They 
were dismayed at the deadly reception our untrained 
soldiers had given them. General Clinton, who had 
been watching the battle from Copp's Hill and saw 
the day going against them, instantly hurried over 
with fresh troops. Once more the British regulars 
formed at the foot of the hill. 

We may imagine with what mingled feelings the 
Americans, gazing down through the rifts of smoke 
from burninor Charlestown, watched the movements 
of the reinforced foe. Putnam and Warren again 
went around cheering our men. 

Prescott shouted, " Let 's drive them back once 
more, and they cannot rally again." 

But alas ! the stock of powder was giving out ! 
The patriots had only three or four rounds left, and 
as for close fighting, there were only about fifty bayo- 
nets to all their guns. Orders were passed along to 
use their powder carefully, to hold fire until the 
enemy came within twenty yards, and to make every 
shot tell. 

Meantime the enemy's cannon from the ships had 
got a better range, and were pouring in a galling 



The Battle of Bunker Hill. 1 79 

fire. The prospect on our side was beginning to 
look desperate. Short of powder; without bayo- 
nets ; confronted by brave enemies always twice our 
number, and now with fresh troops ; tired out with 
marching or digging all night and shoveling or 
fighting all day; for the most part without food and 
water, — our men still defiantly held the fort. 

At five o'clock the British formed for the third 
attack, advancing now in three columns to charge 
us on three sides. This time their knapsacks were 
laid aside, and they marched in light order. Up they 
came as before, only slower ; for they realized that 
they had a dangerous enemy before them. They 
reserved their fire. When they reached that same 
deadly range, once more our ramparts poured forth 
the deadly volleys. 

The British wavered, but then rallied and rushed 
forward to the breastworks with fixed bayonets. 

" Make every shot tell ! " shouted Prescott to his men. 

As the British began to climb over our earthworks, 
our soldiers spent their last shots upon those who 
mounted first. Among those who fell dead at the 
redoubt was Major Pitcairn, who at Lexington had 
cried out, " Disperse, ye rebels ! " 

168. The Patriots forced to retreat from Lack of Ammuni- 
tion. — Their powder all gone, what could the patriots 



1 80 The Story of A rnerican History. 

do but retreat ? This they did in good order for raw 
soldiers, many staying to smite the enemy with the 
butts of their muskets, then with the barrels after the 
butts were broken off, and some even with stones. 
The British were now closing in upon them on all 
sides, and at last Prescott, to avoid being completely 
shut in, gave the word to retreat. He was one of the 
last to leave, defending himself with his sword from 
the bayonets of the enemy. 

Alas ! one shot of the last volley from the British 
killed our beloved Warren ! When General Howe 
heard of this he said, " Warren's death is equal to the 
loss of five hundred men to the Americans." 

Stark and Knowlton held the grass fence till the 
troops had left the top of the hill, and then retreated 
with them in good order to Charlestown Neck. On 
their way back they met at Bunker Hill General 
Putnam, who had collected fresh soldiers and wanted 
to occupy the trenches he had formed there, and make 
a fresh stand against the enemy. But the British 
ships on both sides could rake this position, and it 
was decided to move back to Prospect Hill, which 
our forces fortified. It was about six o'clock when 
the retreat began. 

169. Bunker Hill and the Lesson it taught. — In less 
than three hours, and with only one hour of actual 



The Battle of Bunker Hill. 1 8 1 

fighting, all these fearful scenes were enacted. The 
Americans, with about fifteen hundred men, lost four 
hundred and fifty killed and wounded. But the 
British, with over three thousand, had lost one thou- 
sand and fifty-four, of whom one hundred and fifty- 
seven were officers ! 

Although in form the result of the battle was a 
defeat, as our army lost their ground, yet its effect 
upon the Americans was that of a victory. It taught 
them that they were a match for the British troops in 
a fail- fight. This knowledge nerved them to further 
resistance against royal oppression. Thus this battle, 
the first clear bugle-call of the Revolution, proving 
beyond all doubt that the British troops were not 
invincible, was worth just at this time many decided 
victories to the Americans. To the patriots of every 
colony it gave strength and heart, and the belief that 
their cause would succeed. In the march of events 
and of ideas Bunker Hill was of momentous impor- 
tance. It gave the shock that made the patriots con- 
scious of their might; it cleared their vision and 
roused them to action. 

When Washington first heard of the battle he was 
riding on horseback to take command of the army at 
Cambridge. " Did our men stand fire } " he asked of 
the messenger. Being told that they did, and that 



1 82 The Story of American History. 

they waited till the enemy was only eight rods off, he 
said, " The liberties of the country are safe ! " 

But if the Americans learned that they could fight, 
the British learned it too ! General Gage wrote 
home : " The trials we have had prove the rebels are 
not the despicable rabble too many have supposed 
them to be." 

" If they call that a victory," said a French general, 
" two or three more such would extinguish the British 
army." 

" I wish," said General Greene, " that we could sell 
the British another hill at the same price." 

After Gage had made his formal report of the battle 
to his superior oflficers in England, he was called back 
in disgrace, and was never entrusted with another 
military service. Generals Howe and Clinton learned 
a costly lesson, and never again through the war that 
followed did they lead their men in an open field 
against entrenched American soldiers. 

Such, briefly told, is the story of Bunker Hill. 
The truth is, the whole movement was on the part 
of the Americans an audacious act. There was 
more heroism in it than military prudence. General 
Ward had at Cambridge only a few barrels of powder 
for his entire army ; and to send a thousand men to 
entrench before a well prepared enemy, in front of 



The Battle of B tinker Hill. 183 

batteries and warships, though it needed to be done, 
was yet, from a military point of view, a very rash 
act. On the other hand, General Gage made a very 
unwise military movement. No wonder he was cen- 
sured for the reckless sacrifice of his soldiers at 
Bunker Hill. 

170. Bunker Hill Monument. — On the crown of the 
hill and in the center of the old redoubt stands the 
splendid monument that tells of this famous struggle. 
The square shaft is of Quincy granite, thirty-one feet 
on each side at the base, fifteen feet at the top, two 
hundred and twenty-one feet in height. Inside, a 
stairway of two hundred and ninety-four stone steps 
leads to a room at the top, whose four windows com- 
mand a view of wonderful extent and beauty. Just 
by the base of the monument we can see to-day a 
little grassy ridge, the slight remains of the breast- 
works of 1775. 

The corner-stone was laid by Lafayette in 1825, 
exactly fifty years after the battle, and. on that occa- 
sion Daniel Webster delivered one of his greatest 
orations. In front of him sat forty venerable surviv- 
ors of the conflict. The finished structure was dedi- 
cated in 1842. On this occasion Webster aeain 
delivered a maenificent oration. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

171. The Colonists still regard themselves as English Sub- 
jects. — It seems to us now very remarkable that all 
through the year 1775, notwithstanding the conflicts 
at Lexington and Concord, and even after the battle 
of Bunker Hill, our forefathers still considered them- 
selves loyal British subjects. Although they were 
violently opposing the despotism of the king of Eng- 
land, they never for a moment hesitated to acknowl- 
edge him as their rightful ruler. They regarded all 
the unjust acts of the king and the Parliament as so 
many encroachments upon their rights as English- 
men, just as much as if they were living in their old 
home in England instead of in a British colony. They 
insisted that, although they were three thousand miles 
away, distance did not diminish their just claims as 
free subjects of King George. They had fought as 
Englishmen, not against England. 

Therefore, even for months after Bunker Hill, the 
colonists had no intention of separating from the 

mother country. Very few had much faith in such 

184 



The Declaration of Independe^ice, 185 

a scheme, and still fewer had seriously urged it. A 
large number of the people, probably a majority, 
thought the quarrel might even at that time be 
settled, and the colonies might resume their former 
friendly relations with England. All they had asked 
and all they had fought for was simply their rights 
as Britons. 

Washington, when he took command of the army 
soon after the battle of Bunker Hill, said that he 
abhorred the idea of our separating from the mother 
country, and becoming an independent nation. Frank- 
lin declared that he had traveled all over the country 
and talked with all classes of people, but had never 
heard independence mentioned. 

172. Slow Growth of the Idea of Independence. — We 
must not fail to remember that the idea of independ- 
ence took form very slowly. The first " Stamp Act," 
so offensive to the colonists, became a law in 1764, 
more than ten years before actual hostilities broke 
out. During all those years our ancestors were 
gradually losing their friendly feeling for England. 
They were slowly drifting towards an open conflict, 
in fact, the Revolution. 

This hostility to England grew to be a serious mat- 
ter after the battle of Bunker Hill. It was deepened 
and embittered early in 1776 by a number of events 



1 86 The Story of Amei^ican History. 

that still more sharply estranged America from her 
unkind mother. After the battle the British con- 
tinued to occupy Boston with many hostile demon- 
strations, just as if it were an enemy's country, until 
at the end of a long siege they were driven out by 
Washington. This weary investment caused a great 
deal of bitterness. Everything took on the sombre 
shadow of war, and this of course meant permanent 
hostility to England. 

Another step that greatly angered the Americans, 
and very justly too, was a British proclamation, the 
design and effect of which -was to destroy all the com- 
merce of the colonies by forfeiting their ships. This 
was itself equal to a declaration of war by England. 

Then three petitions to the king, George III, by 
three different congresses, were treated with indiffer- 
ence or even with insolent contempt. The only 
obvious effect of the petitions was to goad England 
to greater severities. To a proposal at one time to 
exchange prisoners, it was answered that England 
"received no applications from rebels, unless they 
came to implore the king's mercy." This stinging 
and insolent reply necessarily implied that all Amer- 
ican patriots were rebels; that they were guilty of 
treason; that, but for the king's mercy, they must 
expect the penalty of treason, which is death ! 



The Declaration of Independence. 187 

173. Active Measures taken by the British. — Meanwhile 
obstinate King George, humored by his prime minis- 
ter, Lord North, was busily making enormous prepa- 
rations for pushing the war upon a large scale. 
Already twenty-five thousand British soldiers had 
been sent to America, or had been enlisted for 
irnmediate service. But so large a party in England 
was opposed to the war I 

a g a i n s t t h e i r o w n &^ 

countrymen in the col- ^p 

onies, that the king . . .^:^ __ :^- _ , g^^— ■^j^^n 

could not raise at home -^irir"iTnni~ri~!~SL 
all the troops he needed. |J~^ :: b ";r^^ ^^^ "^12 

So he made a bargain ^^p^'^^^S^^pp^g^^ft^ 
with a German state, "^"^ . - - -^_^.^'-^— 

Hesse, hiring twenty "Independence Hall," fj\ 

thousand foreign sol- ph^l-^^^^^h^a, as it appeared in 1776. 
diers to cross the ocean and fight his rebellious subjects. 

When our forefathers heard of this, it angered them 
more than anything else that had been done. But even 
worse still, it was learned that the British government 
was taking steps, by means of secret agents, to employ 
the Indians to fight on the British side, and use their 
tomahawks against British colonists ! 

Finally, to all petitions and appeals the English 
government replied that it would not abate any of 



1 88 The Story of American History. 

its demands, and that it would accept from us nothing 
short of entire submission and obedience. 

174. Independence slowly but surely becomes a Stern Neces- 
sity. — Now, if we recall all the wrongs as to taxation 
that we have read of in a previous chapter, and add 
to them this list of subsequent outrages, the prepara- 
tions for a long war, the hiring of Hessians, and the 
incitement of Indians to fight us, we must see that 
our forefathers were compelled to regard England 
as their determined enemy. Such were the succes- 
sive steps by which the old feeling of loyalty to the 
mother country gradually vanished, and bitter hos- 
tility took its place. 

What should the colonies do to protect themselves .f* 
This was the all-important question. The people had 
been tending toward the conviction that the only 
remedy was to break off all connection with England 
and to be independent. 

But it was a long while before this feeling became 
general. It was a steady and natural but slow growth. 
The public indignation, constantly strengthened by 
repeated British outrages, at last culminated in ma- 
ture conviction — a conviction that the only course 
left us was to be wholly free, and to stand by our- 
selves amono: the nations of the earth. 

As this conviction became stronger and stronger 



The Declaration of Independence. 



189 



among the good people all along the narrow coast 
line from Boston to Charleston, it soon found 
expression in many ways. The few newspapers 
spoke out ; public meetings were called to discuss it, 
and conventions dared to announce it. 

People learned at 
last that their chief 
enemy was the king. 
They saw that the 
controversy which 
began merely as a 
colonial struggle for 
their rights as British 
subjects had grown 
broader and deeper, 
till it became a contest 
for our rights as men 
and for the freedom 
of our entire country 
from British control. 
A pamphlet entitled "Common Sense," written by 
Thomas Paine, an Englishman who had recently 
arrived in America, had an enormous sale and exerted 
a powerful influence. It abounded in ready wit, sharp 
reasoning, and rough eloquence. It stimulated the 
longing for independence and the determination to 




Thomas Jefferson, 



IQO The Story of American History. 

be free or die. In May, 1775, the people of Meck- 
lenburg County in North Carolina were the first to 
pass resolutions advocating independence. They sent 
them to their delegates in Congress ; but these at 
that early day did not dare present them. 

In May, 1776, Congress, then in Philadelphia, fol- 
lowing the trend of public opinion, advised the colo- 
nies to consider themselves as no longer holding any 
powers under the authority of Great Britain. That 
was about the same as a declaration of independence. 
Many colonies accordingly set up state governments 
of their own without asking the king's consent. 

175. Steps taken for a Formal Declaration of Independence. 
— The second Continental Congress met at Philadel- 
phia, May 10, 1775. Early in June, 1776, one of the 
delegates, Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, offered 
a resolution that "these United Colonies are and 
of right ought to be free and independent states." 
John Adams, of Massachusetts, seconded it in a pow^er- 
ful speech. Three weeks of delay, to enable some of 
the colonies to send in their approval, occurred before 
its adoption. Then a committee of five, consisting of 
Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, 
Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, who 
had been appointed to draw up a formal statement, 
presented the Declaration of Independence. 



The Declaration of Iiidcpeudeuce. 



19 



176. The Declaration of Independence; what it said to the 
World. — The simple and yet luminous words of this 
Declaration were written by Jefferson. His draft was 
prepared in his lodgings, on a little 
writing desk which still exists. 



Jefferson, in after years 
lighted to tell how 
final vote was hastene 
by the extremely 
hot weather and 
by the fact that 
there was a stable 
near b y, and 
swarms of flies 
came in throuQ-h 
the open windows 
and added much 
to the discomfort 
of the patriots al- 




Jefff.rson reading the Declaration of 
Independence to Franklin. 



ready w o r n out 
with the debate 
and the heat. 

Jefferson read his "fair copy" of the Declaration 
to his friend Benjamin Franklin. The old philoso- 
pher was delighted with the terse style and the vigor- 
ous sentences. 



192 The Story of American History. 

"That's good; that's right to the point," said he; 
" that will make King George wince. I wish I had 
written it myself." 

One of Franklin's biographers declares that it is 
fortunate that Franklin did not compose the Decla- 
ration, for he would surely have put a joke into the 
immortal document ! 

Every line and sentence of the Declaration of 
Independence stirred the hearts of the people then, 
and it does even now, after the lapse of more than one 
hundred and twenty-four years. It embodies in a 
noble and enduring form the hopes, feelings, convic- 
tions, and aspirations of every true American. When 
first proclaimed, it said in thunder tones to all the 
world that here was a people in far-away America 
willing to give their fortunes and their lives for what 
they believed to be right. 

177. Independence declared. — On the second of July, 
1776, the sub-committee of five patriots submitted to 
Congress the important document. There was deep 
silence as the solemn and earnest words were slowly 
read. Hearts beat faster and eyes flashed at the 
recital of the tyranny of the king and the sufferings 
of the people. 

A three days' discussion followed. Jefferson re- 
mained silent under the sharp criticism, but the 



The Declaration of Indepejidence. 



i'93 



genial old philosopher, Franklin, sat next to him 
and soothed his feelings by telling him stories that 
fitted the case. 

At last the great Declaration of Independence, in 
its final form, was adopted, July 4, 1776. 

During the discussion there was intense excite- 
ment in and around the old State House in Philadel- 
phia, w^here Congress was 
in session. Thousands 
thronged about the build- 
ing, watching the barred 
doors and closed wandoW' 
shutters with feverish 
anxiety. The faces of the 
crowd are turned upward 
to the steeple, for there 
hangs a bell brought from 
London nearly a quarter 
of a century before, bear- 
ins^ the prophetic and liberty bell, 

• ^ T , . Hall, 

Singularly appropriate 

words of Scripture, " Proclaim liberty throughout 

the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." 

It had been arranged by some one that the bell 
should be runor the moment the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence was adopted. The old bell-ringer placed a 




Independence 
Philadelphia. 



194 



The Story of American History. 



small boy at the hall door to await the signal of the 
doorkeeper. When at last the vote for independence 
was declared, the doorkeeper gave the 
signal, and the boy ran out shouting, 
" Ring, ring, ring ! " 

And the old bell-ringer did ring 
as he never rang before ! 

178. How the Declaration was received 

by the People. — After it had passed 

Congress, the Declaration was sent 

^ to be read to the people 

I throughout the thirteen 

colonies. It was re- 
ceived everywhere 
^^ with the great- 

est joy. Bells 
were r u n g, 
cannon were 
fired, fireworks 
were burned, 
and flags were 
fiung to the 
breeze. The 
bands played 
martial music, and even the smallest towns and vil- 
lages were in a blaze of excitement. Washington 




The People waiting for the Final Vote 
ON THE Declaration. 



The Declaration of Independence. 195 

ordered the Declaration to be read to all the bricjades 
of the patriot army in and around New York City. 
The occasion was celebrated the same night by pull- 
ing down the leaden statue of George III on Bowling 
Green, and casting it into bullets. 

The magic word was Independence. 

John Adams truthfully predicted that these demon- 
strations of joy w^ould be reflected in many a year to 
come by the people of our free country. 

The eloquent words of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence had been pronounced, but it was left for 
Washington and his little army to make it good. 

England at this time was the most powerful nation 
in the world. Her navy was large, and her army was 
fully equipped and well drilled. Her resources were 
vast, and she had now made up her mind to crush 
the " rebels " in America. To men in foreign lands it 
seemed madness for the feeble colonies in America 
to resist the royal power of England. 

The Declaration of Independence after a time was 
sio^ned bv fiftv-six deleo;ates from all the colonies. 

179. Incidents connected with the Great Event. — If we 
look at a facsimile of the signatures to the Declara- 
tion, we notice that the name of Stephen Hopkins, 
of Rhode Island, was written with a tremulous hand. 
This was due to a partial paralysis. After he had 



1 96 The Story of A mericaii History. 

signed, he smiled at his irregular penmanship and 
said, " You see my hand trembles, but my heart 
does n't ! " 

John Hancock's signature is noted for its big, bold 
letters. 

" There," said he, '' John Bull can read that with- 
out ' specs ' ! " 

As they gathered round to sign their names to the 
document, "pledging their lives, their fortune, and 
their sacred honor" to maintain and defend their 
action, every one of them understood very well that, 
if this revolution failed and he should be captured, 
he was liable to be hanged as a traitor. 

John Hancock said to a group of the signers, " We 
must stand by each other ; no pulling different ways 
— we must all hang together in this matter." 

"'Yes," said Franklin, "we must indeed, or we shall 
all hang separately ! " 

The Fourth day of July, marked by the momen- 
tous event popularly known as the adoption of the 
" Declaration of Independence," has properly become 
our National Holiday. The day has been celebrated, 
just as our forefathers said it would be, with the firing 
of cannon, the ringing of bells, parades, and bonfires. 
From that day to the present, the immortal document 
has been listened to with reverence by our people. 



The Declaration of Independence. 197 

180. What the Declaration of Independence should mean to 
us. — Thus we have traced the growth of the passion 
for liberty which finally reached its loftiest expression 
in this noble Declaration. Read it and let it grow 
into your memory. Do not forget that lovers of 
liberty, the world over, regard it as the sublimesi 
state paper ever produced by man, marking the 
grandest advance in political progress ever made 
by the human race. 

To us of the present day its chief charm lies in its 
noble beginning and its no less noble end. We care 
little now about the faults and the follies of Kino: 
George, but the bold assertions of great truths in the 
opening sentences of the Declaration appeal as warmly 
to us to-day as they did to those for whom they were 
first written. 

It is interesting to know that it was signed by men 
of lofty purpose and exalted character, every one of 
whom held to his last day a reputation never dis- 
honored. These were the chosen men, worthy to be 
leaders with Washington of the young nation. 

For good or evil this most momentous step was 
now taken. There was no choice left the colonies 
but to win by hard fighting or to be crushed by 
their enemy. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE BURGOYNE CAMPAIGN. 

181. First Campaign for the Control of the Hudson fails. — 
It did not require much intelligence on the part of the 
British government to perceive that it would be wise 
policy to separate if possible one group of its revolt- 
ing colonies from the rest. This was practicable only 
along the line of the Hudson. The two long lakes, 
Champlain and George, with the navigable river, 
almost made a great water highway from Canada on 
the north to the sea on the south. 

The plan to cut off New England from the other 

colonies was acted upon in the summer of 1776. 

Carleton, a most efficient British general, came down 

from Canada, captured Crown Point, and got as far 

as Ticonderoga, when, having heard nothing of Howe, 

who was to come up from the south, he was forced by 

the lateness of the season to return. Howe had been 

delayed and baffled by Washington until it was too 

late to march north to meet Carleton. Thus the first 

campaign for the control of the Hudson proved a 

failure. 

198 



The Btirgoy^ie Campaign. 199 

182. The Plan for the Second Campaign. — The British 
ministry at once planned for another attempt during 
the next summer. This time the invasion was to be 
carried out by three separate armies working towards 
a common point. The main attack was to be made 
from the north. The army in Canada was to march 
south, capture Ticonderoga, and go down the Hudson 
to Albany. This part of the campaign was entrusted 
to General Burgoyne. 

Meanwhile Sir William Howe was to go up the 
Hudson and join his forces with those of Burgoyne at 
Albany. Now, as there were many Tories in central 
New York, and also powerful Indian tribes friendly to 
the British cause, a small force under the command of 
Colonel St. Leger was to sail up the St. Lawrence to 
Lake Ontario, land at Oswego, and then march down 
the Mohawk valley to join Burgoyne on the Hudson. 

The English government built great hopes upon 
Burgoyne's expedition. No expense or effort was 
spared to make it a success. Money and supplies 
were furnished without stint. 

183. Burgoyne begins Operations with a Great Army and 
Much Show. — When Burgoyne opened his campaign 
in the early summer of 1777, he had command of 
the best army that had yet taken the field in America. 
There were about four thousand English veterans, 



200 The Story of American History. 

three thousand Germans, or Hessians as they were 
called, nearly five hundred Indian warriors, and a 
small force of Canadians. Most of the soldiers, as 
well as the officers, were veterans. Forty cannon, 
well served and equipped, made up the artillery 
train. 

It was a splendid and imposing sight when this 
army in the middle of June sailed into Lake Cham- 
plain in a large flotilla with bands playing and ban- 
ners flying. Burgoyne was a clever, agreeable, and 
well-bred man, and a brave soldier ; but he was vain, 
headstrong, and self-confident. 

The British general served a great feast to his 
Indian allies on the shore of the lake near Crown 
Point. He was dressed in showy uniform, and so 
were all of his chief officers. He made a pompous 
speech to his savage guests, who were adorned with 
war paint on their faces and eagles' feathers in their 
hair. He told them not to scalp the wounded, nor 
murder aged men, helpless women, or children. 
These " wild hyenas," as Burke called them in one 
of his great speeches before the English Parliament, 
promised to obey their " great white father." 

The sturdy settlers knew what an Indian promise 
meant, and they speedily packed their goods and sent 
their families across the Green Mountains to the Con- 



The Burgoyne Campaign. 201 

necticut Valley. Burgoyne had written poetry, and 
many poor plays, and so now he wrote in his high- 
flown style an address to the American people. All 
were warned against driving off their cattle, hiding 
their corn, and breaking down the bridges in his way. 
He threatened to let loose his savages upon them if 
they disobeyed. He also made a stirring address to 
his soldiers, in which he gave out the famous watch- 
w^ord, " This army must not retreat." 

184. The Capture of Ticonderoga and what followed. — 
Every one supposed that Fort Ticonderoga would be a 
barrier to Burgoyne. Unfortunately the commander, 
St. Clair, had failed to secure a neighboring position 
which commanded the fortress. No one thought it 
possible to drag cannon up the steep and rugged sides 
of this mountain; but the British general worked night 
and day in hewing out a path, and with oxen dragged 
up his cannon and placed them in position to pour a 
plunging fire into the fort. 

The next morning the top of the crag, now named 
Mount Defiance, was swarming with British troops. 
St. Clair saw with amazement the trap in which he 
was caught. The next night the far-famed fortress 
was abandoned, and the Continental army retreated 
southward. At daybreak the British and the Hessians 
sprang to arms, ready to follow sharply both by land 



202 The Story of American History. 

and water the retreating army. So hot was the pur- 
suit that the Americans were forced to destroy their 
boats. All the wagon-loads of arms, stores, and bag- 
gage fell into British hands. 

There was a sharp fight a few^ days afterwards in 
the woods at a place called Hubbard ton, where the rear 
guard of the Americans, under Warner, was surprised 
early in the morning, while the men were cooking 
breakfast. They made a gallant and stubborn resist- 
ance against the picked veterans of Burgoyne's army. 
Warner was outnumbered and defeated, but the pur- 
suit was so checked that St. Clair was able to bring 
what was left of his army safely to Fort Edward, 
where he joined Schuyler. 

185. Burgoyne, elated by Success, begins to make Blunders. 
— The curtain now falls upon the first act of this 
great war drama. Burgoyne had been highly favored. 
Ticonderoga had fallen in a night. Everybody was 
astounded. The news fell like a sound of doom over 
the land. W^ashington wrote to Schuyler : " The 
evacuation of Ticonderoo^a is an event of chamn 
and surprise not apprehended, nor within the com- 
pass of my reasoning." 

Burgoyne now began to boast that victory would 
certainly crown his future movements, and even pre- 
dicted the speedy end of the war and the submission 



The Burgoyiie Campaign. 203 

of the colonies. He hurried off a special messenger 
to King George, telling the king that everything was 
going just as he wished it. The king rushed into 
the queen's apartments, says Walpole, clapping his 
hands and shouting, " I have beat them ! I have beat 
all the Americans." 

In reality, Burgoyne's troubles w^re just beginning. 

In his haste to crush the Americans before they 
could combine against him, Burgoyne began to make 
serious blunders. For instance, it was a fatal mistake 
when he decided on marching to Fort Edward through 
the wilderness, instead of going back to Ticonderoga 
and proceeding thence up Lake George and on to 
Fort Edward and the Hudson. Time, that all-im- 
portant factor in military campaigns, was lost sight 
of by this over-confident British general. Again, 
Burgoyne made another serious mistake in underesti- 
mating the fighting qualities of his enemy. 

186. General Schuyler carries out a Masterly Policy. — 
Fortunately for the Americans, Schuyler was an able 
and experienced general, and Washington knew it. 
He had less than five thousand poorly armed men, 
but he faced the situation bravely. He knew that if 
he could delay the British invaders for a time, men 
enough would rally for the defense of their homes to 
meet his foe in open battle. He did at once the 



204 



The Story of American History. 



best thing possible. He put every obstacle in Bur- 
goyne's way that ingenuity could devise or experience 
suggest. He made the axe and the crowbar help him. 
Hundreds of trees were felled across the road. 
All the cattle were driven out of reach. The coun- 
try was stripped of all provisions. The bridges were 

burnt, the creeks choked 
with stumps and stones, 
and the wood-roads were 
destroyed. The aspect of 
things began to change. 
Schuyler did his work well. 
He abandoned Fort Ed- 
ward and fell back to Still- 
water, where he entrenched 
himself and waited. 

It is only about twenty- 
six miles from Skenesboro to Fort Edward, but it took 
Burgoyne twenty-four days to march this distance, and 
even then he had to wait two weeks longer for the 
arrival of his artillery. New roads had to be made, 
forty bridges built, and supplies and heavy ammuni- 
tion carried through an almost impassable wilderness. 
187. The Sturdy Pioneers of the North rise in Defense of 
their Homes. — Meanwhile, what were the stout-hearted 
pioneers of the north doing ? The time for prompt 




The Biirgoyne Cmnpaign, 205 

action had come. The frontiersmen rose nobly to 
the demands of the situation. Burgoyne's Indians, 
ever since they left the Canadian border, had been 
ravaging and scalping. Never was a British general 
more mistaken than when he thought such bloody work 
would frighten the American people. It aroused the 
fierce spirit of revenge in them as no other act could 
have done. 

188. The Murder of Jane McCrea. — The sad story of 
Jane McCrea has been read and re-read ever since 
this beautiful girl was tomahawked and scalped by 
Burgoyne's savages. It is not certain just how it 
happened. It is true that a party of Indians seized 
and carried away Miss McCrea, and a Mrs. McNeil 
with whom she was visiting in the latt«r's home near 
Fort Edward. 

It is also known that Jane was betrothed to one of 
Burgoyne's officers, and as her own home was in New 
Jersey, it is probable that the unfortunate girl was 
planning to meet her lover. 

Some say that the Indians quarreled over a barrel 
of rum that was to be given them as a reward on her 
safe arrival ; others claim that a band of American 
militia fired into the party. At all events, Mrs. 
McNeil came alone to the English camp. 

The next day the body of the murdered girl was 



2o6 The Story of American History. 

found near a spring, pierced with three bullets. An 
Indian came into camp with a scalp, which Mrs. 
McNeil recognized as that of her friend by its black, 
silky hair, more than a yard long. 

There was nothing unusual about the murder, 
for it was only one of many such. The deed has, 
however, been woven into song and story, which 
have been repeated with endless variations in detail 
for more than six-score years. The name " Jenny 
McCrea " became a watchword to the stout and reso- 
lute farmers who were hastening from far and near 
to the scene of action. 

189. Burgoyne gets his First Hard Blow ; Desperate Fight- 
ing in the Mohawk Valley. — The first hard blow Bur- 
goyne receive*! came from the west. Colonel St. 
Leger, as we remember, was marching with seven- 
teen hundred men down the Mohawk Valley. He 
came to a stronghold called Fort Stanwix, and 
ordered its commander, Colonel Gansevoort, to sur- 
render. The demand met with a pointed refusal, 
and the British began a regular siege. 

Everywhere through this beautiful valley was great 
excitement. General Herkimer, a militia officer over 
sixty years of age, a thorough master of Indian war- 
fare, was a man of might in this section. Eight hun- 
dred hardy pioneers of this frontier region rallied at 



The Burgoync Cmnpaigii. 



207 






the veteran's call and marched with him to the relief 
of the fort. The younger officers would not listen to 
the old general's advice to move with caution. 

" You," said the old patriot, stung by their taunts, 
" you, who want to fight so badly now, will be the first 
to run when you smell burnt 
powder." 

There was not a proper ad- 
vance guard, and the men fell 
into an ambush of the Tories 
and their Indian allies on the 
steep slope of a ravine, near 
a place called Oris- 



kany. A desperate 
fight began hand to 
hand and from tree 
to tree. The worst 
thunderstorm of the 
season put an end to the battle for about an hour. 
Herkimer was shot in the leg in the early part of the 
encounter. He was lifted from his fallen horse and 
placed, at his own request, upon his saddle, propped 
against a beech tree. The old soldier lighted his 
pipe, and though the bullets were whistling about 
him, and men were falling thick and fast within a 
few yards, he coolly continued to direct the battle, 




Herkimer directing the Battle. 



2o8 The Story of American History, 

giving his orders calmly, as if on a parade ground. 
Through the leafy depths of the forest rang the 
clashing of steel, the crack of rifle, and, above all, the 
hideous yells of the savages. Suddenly the Indians 
raised the retreating cry of " Oonah ! " and in an 
instant they were gone ! The desperate fighting 
was too much for the Tories, and they too fled, leav- 
ing the patriots in possession of the hard-earned 
field. 

Thus was fought one of the most hotly contested 
and, for the numbers engaged, one of the deadliest of 
the Revolutionary battles. No quarter was given on 
either side. Of the eight hundred men under Herki- 
mer that fought on that sultry August day, only about 
a third ever saw their homes again. 

The brave old Dutchman was carried to his home, 
where, propped up in bed with pillows, he calmly 
smoked his pipe, read his Bible, and waited serenely 
for the end. He died a few days later. He had 
fought what was perhaps the most desperate battle 
of the Revolution, and he was victor. 

190. Gallant Defense of Fort Stanwix ; First American 
Flag raised. — In the mean time St. Leger, in spite of 
this heavy check, moved up to within one hundred 
and fifty yards of the fort and again demanded its 
surrender. The gallant Gansevoort made a flag from 



The Bttrgoyne Campaign. 



209 



portions of an old blue coat, a white shirt, and some 
strips from a red flannel petticoat, and raised it 
above five captured British flags and defied his foes 
to take the fort. We should remember the date, 
August 6, 1777; for it is claimed 
that this was the first American 
flag with stars and stripes that 
was ever flung to the breeze. 

While the siege was in 
full progress, the besiegers 
suddenly broke up their 
camps and retreated toward 
Canada in great confusion, 
leaving behind them their 
cannon, supplies, and even 
their tents. What was the 
matter .f^ Arnold had been 
sent north by Washington 
immediately after the fall 
of Ticonderoga, and had 
arrived at Schuyler's headquarters three weeks before. 
Restless and impatient, he was despatched by Schuyler 
to relieve the brave garrison. On his w^ay he captured 
and was going to hang as a spy a half-witted but ugly 
young Tory. The boy's mother begged his life. 

Arnold granted the mother's request on condition 




Raising ''Old Glory 
THE First Time. 



2IO The Story of Americaii History. 

that the young fellow should take some friendly 
Indians with him and hasten to the British camp 
and so alarm St. Leger as to induce him to raise 
the siege and retreat ! The frightened Tory set out 
on. his perilous errand, his brother being held by 
Arnold as a hostage, and reached the British camp 
just as the Indians were holding a " pow-wow " over 
the dubious enterprise in which they were engaged. 

As the savaofes saw the Tory's coat full of bullet 
holes, and listened to his wonderful story of his own 
narrow escape, and heard that Arnold was close on 
their heels wath two thousand regulars, the savages 
said, " The pow-wow said we must go " ; and go they 
did in utmost haste. In vain the British officers 
stormed and swore. The troops wxre seized with a 
panic. St. Leger and all his army retreated in dis- 
order, broken and beaten, to Oswego, and afterwards 
to Montreal. The valley of the Mohawk was safe. 
St. Leger's defeat dealt a severe blow to the plans 
and prospects of Burgoyne. Arnold was now able 
to rejoin Schuyler. 

191. Burgoyne plans a Raid into the Country to secure 
Supplies. — All this time Burgoyne was hard pushed for 
food. Every pound of bread and meat had to be 
brought from Canada. Nobody but Tories would 
sell him an ounce of beef or an ear of corn. 



The Biirgoyne Campaign. 2 1 1 

The British general was also anxious to strike a 
blow at the good people of New England. He knew 
that the supplies of the patriots were stored at Ben- 
nington. Supplies he must have. On August 1 1 he 
sent off Colonel Baum with about five hundred Hes- 
sians, Indians, and Tories on a plundering trip to 
this little village. 

Four days later a second division of about six 
hundred men was sent under Colonel Breymann to 
help Baum, for it was evident that the situation was 
looking ugly. Instead of raiding the country, Baum, 
learning that the militia were gathering in all direc- 
tions, entrenched himself on a hill about four miles 
from Bennington and waited for reinforcements. 

192. The Men of New England rally to defend their Homes. 
— The men of New England, instead of waiting till 
their houses were burnt, their crops destroyed, and 
their wives and children scalped, were rapidly arriving 
from far and near to meet their hated foe. The 
instant the Hessians and Indians threatened to come 
over the line, the men of New England knew there 
was only one thing to do and it must be done at once. 
That was to kill as many of the enemy as they could 
and drive the rest back. They had already prepared 
for this. 

Not every man was able to act as did staunch old 



2 1 2 The Story of A merican History. 

John Langdon, who kept a store in Portsmouth. He 
said to the New Hampshire Assembly: " I have three 
thousand dollars in hard money. I will pledge my 
plate for as much more. I have seventy hogsheads 
of rum, which shall be sold. Our old friend John 
Stark, who defended the rail fence at Bunker Hill, 
will work like a beaver to stop Burgoyne." 

Among the rugged hills of northern New England 
no other man had such a personal following as had 
John Stark — a man of dauntless courage, rough sim- 
plicity, and real Yankee shrewdness. 

In appearance Stark was a man of medium size, 
well proportioned, and of great strength and endur- 
ance. It is remarkable that in all his years of hard 
service in the French and Indian wars, and in the 
many severe battles of the Revolution, he had never 
received a wound. He lived to be ninety-four years 
of age. He survived all the high officers that had 
taken part in the Revolution except Sumter, the 
famous southern general. 

Messeno^ers rode on fast horses over the hills w^ith 
orders for the men to rally at once. Each man packed 
his knapsack, grasped his rifle, left the women to get 
in the crops, and started for Charlestown on the Con- 
necticut River, where Stark had raised his standard. 
Old men of seventy and even boys of fifteen turned 



The Burgoyite Campaign. 213 

out. Some of the farmers brought clock weights, 
some their pewter spoons and porringers, to be melted 
into bullets. The metal w^as kept running into the 
bullet moulds night and day. An old rusty cannon 
w^as found ; it was mounted on a pair of cart w^heels 
and dragged over the Green Mountains. 

The story is told of one -mother whose boy of only 
fifteen was ready to start, but had no coat. The 
patriot mother took a meal bag, made a hole for the 
head, two more for the arms, cut off the feet of a pair 
of her long stockings which she sewed on for sleeves, 
— and hurried him away to Stark's camp! 

193. How John Stark whipped the British at Bennington. — 
Stark was now ready to march against Baum. On 
August 14 he was within a mile of the British camp. 
The next day it rained heavily. Fighting in such 
pouring torrents was out of the question. The Hes- 
sians w^orked hard on the entrenchments all day, and 
Stark sheltered his men in brush huts and under the 
lee of fences. 

One hundred men from the Berkshire Hills arrived 
in the night. A minister who could fight as well as 
preach came with them in a sulky. 

" General Stark," said he, " we have never had a 
chance to fight, and if you don't give us a chance 
now, we shall never turn out again." 



214 



The Story of A inerican History. 




" Do you want to fight now in the rain and at 
night ? " said Stark. 

" No," said the good man. 

" Well, then," said Stark, " if the Lord gives us 
sunshine once more, and I don't give 
you fighting enough, you need n't turn 
out again." 

Old soldiers who had fought 
behind the rail fence at Bunker 
Hill with Stark, and who had 
been in the front ranks 
with him at Tren- 
ton, knew that there 
would be no boy's 
play in the coming- 
battle. The next 
morning, which was 
Saturday, August 
1 6, broke clear and 
hot. 

The ever -active 
Stark addressing his Men before the and energetic Stark 

Battle of Bennington. determined tO Storm 

the hill before reinforcements could reach the enemy. 
This was a desperate undertaking for country militia 
armed only with muskets and fowling pieces, without 



The Bttrgoyne Campaign. 215 

bayonets or side arms. Baum was well entrenched 
on a hill behind breastworks defended by highly 
disciplined veterans. 

About midday Stark, calling his men together in 
a large field, leaped to the topmost rail of a fence, 
steadied himself by a tall post, and addressed his 
troops in the historic words : " Now, my men, yonder 
are the Hessians. They are bought for seven pounds 
tenpence a man. Are you worth more } Prove it. 
To-night the American flag floats over yonder hill, 
or Molly Stark sleeps a widow ! " 

Foreseeing that there would be close work with 
the Tories, who were dressed in farmers' clothes, like 
most of his own men. Stark gave orders that a corn 
husk in the hatband should be the badge of his own 
men. Five hundred men were sent to form in the 
rear of Baum's entrenchment, and two hundred more 
were massed on the right as a flanking party. 

It is now about three o'clock. With all his men in 
position Stark gives the word " Forward ! " The battle 
begins in earnest. With wild shouts the farmer-soldiers 
press forward, using their rifles with deadly effect. The 
Indians, panic-stricken, yelling like demons, take to 
their heels, and make their escape into the forest. 
They have no intention of being caught in a trap. 
The Hessians stand their ground and fight bravely. 



2 1 6 The Story of A mericait History. 

For two hours there is hot work, " one continuous 
roar," as Stark afterwards said. The old cannon on 
cart wheels fires stones, for there are no cannon 
balls ! At last Stark leads his men in a fierce charge. 
Baum falls mortally wounded, and his men surrender. 
A wild hurrah goes up. The battle is won. 

It was in the nick of time. Breymann arrived 
with fresh troops and began a lively attack. Stark 
rallied his men. A hundred and fifty " Green Moun- 
tain boys," hearing the roar of the battle, came up in 
the rear at just the right moment. They fell upon 
the Hessians like a thunderbolt, routed them, and 
would have captured them all if it had not been 
nearly dark. As it was, the enemy retreated in haste 
under cover of the darkness. 

The pioneer settlers of New England had proved 
themselves more than a match for entrenched regulars. 
Stark had beaten two of Burgoyne's best officers in 
a pitched battle. The victory was won by the sheer 
hard fighting of men who were well led. 

194. Mighty Efforts of the Patriots to crush Burgoyne. — 
The battle of Bennington was a severe blow for Bur- 
goyne. His army never fully recovered from it. A 
thousand of his best men were lost, besides cannon, 
arms, and supplies of war. Even the savages began 
to leave in large numbers. 



The Burgoyne Campaign. 



217 



The effect of this briUiant victory on the coun- 
try was magical. It began to be thought that the 
whole of Burgoyne's army might be captured. Militia 



came in increasing numbers 



CA/en from points on the At- 
lantic coast. 

Washington had some time 
before sent two of his best offi- 
cers — Arnold, who as a fighter 
in pitched battles was unsur- 
passed, and Morgan, who came 
with five hundred sharp- 
shooters, each man of whom, it 
was said, could hit a- squirrel 
with his rifle at a distance of 
three hundred yards. 

Congress, misinformed, now 
set aside the noble General 
Schuyler and sent Gates, a 
schemer and intriguer, to supersede him. Schuyler's 
wise forethought and steadfast courage had already 
begun to show results. By a stupid blunder of the 
British government, orders for Sir William Howe to 
march north to aid Burgoyne had been delayed. 

General Lincoln had moved with two thousand 
men to the rear of the British army. The outposts 




The Battle Monument at 
Bennington, Vt. 



2i8 The Story of American History. 

of Ticonderoga had been retaken, and the road to 
Canada was thus closed for help or retreat. 

195. The Hard-fought Battle near Saratoga. — Burgoyne 
soon found that he must do something. About the 
middle of September he crossed to the west bank of 
the Hudson and came within two miles of the Ameri- 
can camp at Bemis Heights. Here took place, on 
September i8, a hotly contested battle known as 
that of Freeman's Farm. If Gates had been an able 
general, probably the British army would have been 
crushed and the Burgoyne campaign ended then and 
there. As it w^as, the deadly fire of the riflemen 
inflicted a severe blow. 

Gates did not follow up his advantage. The two 
armies glared at each other. There was no rest for 
either side. There was sharp skirmishing all along 
the lines. The nights were made hideous by the 
howls of large packs of wolves that were attracted 
by the partially buried bodies of those slain in the 
battle. 

At last, on October 7, Burgoyne came out from 
his entrenched camp with fifteen hundred picked 
men and ten cannon. A bloody hand-to-hand battle 
was fought. 

Gates had removed Arnold from his command. 
Angry and desperate, this impetuous but hard fighter 



The Btirgoyne Campaign. 219 

placed himself at the head of a detachment of the 
Continental troops, and under a terrific fire led the 
men to battle. Mounted on a dark-brown horse, he 
rode at full gallop over the field. He was greeted with 
wild cheers. " Call that fellow back," said Gates, " or 
he will do something rash." With mad fury his men 
charged and drove the enemy at the point of the 
bayonet. 

In the final retreat a wounded Hessian, lying on 
the o-round, took aim and fired at Arnold. The 
bullet killed his horse and wounded the general in 
the same leg that had been hit by a musket ball 
nearly two years before, at the storming of Quebec. 
A thousand times better would it have been had the 
bullet gone through his heart ! 

As Arnold fell, one of his men rushed up and was 
just going to bayonet the soldier who had shot his 
beloved general ; but Arnold cried, " In Heaven's 
name, don't kill him ! He is a fine fellow ! " This 
was the moment when the general whom Washington 
so much admired for his rash bravery should have 
died. 

In less than an hour the British were driven back 
and retreated behind their entrenchments. 

Some time afterward, when Arnold had turned 
traitor and captured an American officer, he asked 



2 20 The Story of American History, 

him, " What will your people do with me if they 
catch me ? " 

" If my countrymen catch you," replied the fearless 
patriot, " they will first cut off your lame leg, which 
was wounded at Quebec and Saratoga, and bury it 
with the honors of war,, and afterwards hang the rest 
of your body on a gallows." 

Darkness alone stopped the battle. General Mor- 
gan, as he saw a brave Scottish officer riding every- 
where along the line, said to one of his best marksmen : 
" That is General Fraser. I admire and honor him, 
but it is necessary that he should die. Take your 
station in yonder bushes and do your duty." Shortly 
afterwards, this splendid Scotchman, who said to an 
aid when warned of his peril, " My duty forbids me 
to fly from danger," fell mortally wounded. 

196. Effect of the Great Victory at Saratoga. — Such was 
the battle of Bemis Heights, or Saratoga. It was 
really fought within a very few rods of the place 
where the battle of Freeman's Farm occurred. 

The rest of the story is soon told. Burgoyne re- 
treated through the storm to Saratoga. The attempt 
to escape was hopeless. He w^as hemmed in on every 
side. The " trap " which the best British officers had 
foreseen, had been sprung. There was only one 
thing to do, and that was to yield to the inevitable. 



The B^trgoyne Campaign. 221 

Burgoyne, with his army of about six thousand 
men, surrendered October 17, 1777. 

The battle of Saratoga has justly been called "one 
of the decisive battles of history." It made a pro- 
found impression in Europe. It was the defeat of 
Burgoyne's army that convinced France that it was 
time to come to the help of the American colonies. 
It lifted the cloud of gloom which had settled upon 
the hearts of the American people, and which had 
wrung despondent words even from the hopeful 
Washington. 

From the day of tfiis memorable victory until 
liberty was fully realized, four years later, in the final 
surrender at Yorktown, no true American gave up 
the idea of final triumph. 



CHAPTER XV. 

WASHINGTON AND THE REVOLUTION. 

197. Boyhood and Youth of George Washington. — During 
the infancy of our nation there were many staunch 
and noble patriots ; but far above all stood, and 
stands to-day, the majestic figure of George Wash- 
ington. He came upon the stage at just the right 
time to give the vigor of his manhood to the military 
service of his country, and the maturity of his judg- 
ment to the formation of the new government and 
later to the presidency. He was born in Virginia on 
February 22, 1732. 

In those days the country was thinly settled, good 
schools were rare, and even the rich planters did not 
find it easy to have their children well disciplined 
in learning. The future president had only a plain 
education in reading, writing, and arithmetic. In 
his childhood he showed a martial spirit. While at 
school he was often the captain of a little military 
company with paper hats and wooden swords, and 
even in their marches and sham battles the boy 
exhibited somewhat of the soldierly bearing and 



Was/migton and the Revolution. 223 

honorable character that distinguished him later 

in life. 

He took an interest in study and enjoyed reading 
o-nod books. He wrote an excellent hand, and some 
productions in his superior penmanship have been 
kept to this day, showing remarkable neatness and 
accuracy. They comprise lessons in geometry, forms 
of business papers, and even some neatly written 
extracts in verse. He studied by himself book-keep- 
ing and mathematics, especially land surveying, which 
was much needed in that new country. These studies 
proved of great value to him in after years. 

198. Boyhood's Sports. — Washington when a lad was 
robust, fond of athletic games, running, jumping, and 
wrestling. In these healthful sports he outdid his 
comrades. He could surpass them all in throwing a 
stone across the Rappahannock. The boys all liked 
him, for he was generous and open-hearted, and they 
used to make him a judge in their disputes. 

He was especially given to horsemanship, and 
delighted to break in the dashing young colts, and 
even to train dangerous horses. 

199. Washington's Love for his Mother. — When Wash- 
ington was about eleven years old his father died, and 
the family was broken up. George's mother, like the 
mothers of most great men, had a strong, upright 



2 24 -^^^^ Story of Americaji History. 

character and brought up her children exceedingly 
well. Like all worthy boys, he dearly loved his 
mother and was willing to be guided by her wishes. 

When about fourteen, he had a great longing to 
go to sea. Ships of war sometimes anchored in the 
Potomac River, near his home. The officers used to 
visit his brother's estate at Mount Vernon, and the 
boy no doubt listened eagerly to their stories of naval 
battles and adventures. 

He passionately desired to become a sailor. His 
mother at last gave an unwdllino^ consent. His trunk 
was packed and all was ready. But when the hour 
for parting came, the quiet entreaty of his mother, 
" Don't go, George," with tears running down her 
cheeks, changed his purpose. 

This good mother lived until 1789, when she died 
at the age of eighty-two. Her lot was a rare one. 
She lived to see her son the most illustrious of living 
men, with a spotless fame, and as much admired for 
the purity of his character as for the greatness of his 
deeds. It is said that she used to listen to praise of 
him in silence, and only answered : " Yes, George' was 
always a good boy ! " 

200. His Faithful Work as a Surveyor in the Virginia 
Wilderness. — It seems strange now, as we look back 
on his early life, to see how Washington unconsciously 



WasJiingtou and the Revohition. 



225 



prepared himself for his great future. He employed 
a trainer and took a severe course of lessons in skill- 
ful fencing and sword drill, and, besides, he made a 
careful study of military science and tactics. 

He became prominent as a young man of superb 
vigor, fond, of study 
and work, and full 
of promise of great 
achievements. So 
Lord Fairfax, an 
eccentric nobleman, 
who was a great fox 
hunter and who 
much admired his 
young friend's bold 
riding, selected him 
to survey the thou- 
sands of acres of 
forest land that the 
king had granted 
to him beyond the Blue Ridge. This was a pretty 
large undertaking for a boy of sixteen ! But the 
youngster was enough of a man to do it. He and 
his assistant took each a horse, a gun, an axe, sur- 
veyor's tools, and camp outfit. They spent months in 
the vast forests and among the mountains; cutting 




George Washington. 



2 26 The Story of American History. 

their paths through woods, fording rivers, facing the 
drenching storms, surveying and measuring by day, 
and writing out the notes in the light of camp-fires by 
night; Hving on the game they shot, — wild turkeys, 
squirrels, rabbits, and deer; often meeting Indians. 

All this was just the school to prepare him for 
coming duties and for the great career he never then 
dreamed of. Here he gained in a high degree the 
hardy virtues of courage, self-reliance, promptness in 
danger, quick and prudent foresight, and unflinching 
endurance under difficulties. 

On his return, young Washington had done his 
work so well that the Governor appointed him pub- 
lic surveyor. It was a prominent offlce, and he filled 
it honorably. His surveys were so correct that it is 
said they are used even to this day. 

Lord Fairfax lived many years after this. He was 
bitterly opposed to the war of the Revolution. One 
day he heard the people shouting and cheering near 
his home. He asked his old negro servant what it 
all meant, and he was told that Lord Cornwallis had 
surrendered to General Washington. At this the 
old man groaned, " Take me to bed, Joe ; it is high 
time for me to die ! " 

201. His Work as an Army Officer. — Washington was 
twenty-three years old when he was appointed on the 



Washiiio^toii and the Revolution. 



227 



staff of General Braddock. We have read in Chapter 
VIII the story of this disastrous campaign. The 
choice proved the Governor's insiglit into Washing- 
ton's remarkable char- 
acter. His surprising 
bravery, his insensibil- 
ity to fear amid the 
whistling of bullets, 
his coolness in dan- 
ger, and his maturity 
of judgment, really 
saved the whole cam- 
paign and rescued 
Braddock's shattered 
forces from total ruin. 
Shortly afterwards 
\\^ a s h i n g t o n ^^' i t h- 
drcw for a while from 
military life. In 1759, 
he married Mrs. Mar- 
tha Custis, a young 
widow with two small 
children and a large fortune. A short time after their 
marriage Colonel and Mrs. Washington, or Lady Wash- 
ington, as she was called, retired to Mount Vernon, 
a fine estate of eight thousand acres which he had 




Washington crossing a River on a 

Raft in the Wilderness 

DURING Mid-Winter. 



2 28 The Story of American History. 

inherited from his brother Lawrence. His many 
visitors who expected to see a heroic figure could not 
have been disappointed in his personal appearance. 

Washington was a man of noble presence, six feet 
two in height, of dignified and courtly manners and 
a noble military air. With health and w^ealth, a 
happy home and all that makes life pleasant, he was 
enjoying his honors and the comforts of rural life. 

202. Advancement in Political Honors. — So high was 
the trust reposed by all in Washington that he was 
now elected to the Virginia legislature, the House 
of Burgesses, a signal proof of popular confidence. 
He always studied the business of every day care- 
fully, though he seldom made speeches. When he 
first entered and took his seat, in 1759, the Speaker 
of the House rose and in eloquent language returned 
thanks to him in the name of the colony for his 
services during the war. 

Washington stood up to reply; blushed, stam- 
mered, trembled, and could not utter a word. 

" Sit down, Mr. Washington," said the Speaker 
with a smile ; " your modesty equals your valor, and 
that surpasses the power of any language I possess." 

For the next sixteen years Washington's life passed 
quietly and contentedly. Then was heard the distant 
thunder of the coming Revolution. 



Washington and the Revoliction. 229 

We may be sure that Washington studiously 
watched the course of events, and often went back 
to Mount Vernon from the pubHc meetings with an 
anxious mind. 

203. Becomes Commander-in-Chief of the American Army. 
— Soon a problem presented itself before the Conti- 
nental Congress of which Washington was a mem- 
ber. Who shall be chosen Commander-in-Chief of 
our armies } Who shall be singled out for this most 
difficult task ? 

There was one man to whom all turned. On a 
motion of John Adams of Massachusetts the choice 
was George Washington — "a gentleman from Vir- 
ginia who is among us, and very well known to all 
of us." The choice was unanimous. It was a spon- 
taneous tribute to his superior military experience 
and skill ; to the strength and purity of his character, 
the ardor and unselfishness of his patriotism, and 
the perfect confidence which his whole career had 
inspired. 

Washington, in the course of his brief and modest 
speech of acceptance, said his service would be freely 
given without salary, asking that only his expenses 
be paid, and of which he would keep a careful record. 
His expense-books, kept during the Revolution in his 
own neat handwriting, are still carefully preserved. 



230 The Stoiy of American History, 

With the promptness which was a part of his self- 
training, he began at once his new duties. In a few 
days, as we have read in Chapter XII, he took com- 
mand of the patriot army at Cambridge. 

We know how Washington's well-planned siege 
shut up the British army in Boston all that summer 
and all the next winter until March, when his admi- 
rable strategy compelled the proud Howe to sail 
silently away. This achievement of the brave Vir- 
ginia officer, and of his raw farmer-soldiers against 
the much larger force of British regulars, well de- 
served the gold medal given him by Congress. 

204. Takes Command in New York ; his Masterly Retreat. 
— Howe and Washington, after the. evacuation of 
Boston, moved their armies to New York, each 
knowing the other would do so. The British plan 
was to take and hold the Hudson River and thus 
to separate the troublesome New England colonies 
from the others. The possession of New York was 
therefore of vast importance. 

Washington arrived first, and as the Brooklyn 
Heights opposite New York controlled the latter 
city, he did well to occupy this position. But it 
would have been very unwise to place all his army 
there. He stationed about nine thousand men under 
General Putnam in Brooklyn. The rest he used 



.Washington and the Revohitioji. 231 

across the river in the city, and to hold Fort Lee 
and Fort Washington. 

Against Putnam's force the British brought an 
army of twenty thousand, steahng a night march, 
and with their greater number defeated our troops. 
This severe reverse, which could not have been pre- 
vented by him, Washington followed with a military 
success ; for in the night, which fortunately happened 
to be very foggy, he silently and safely withdrew all 
our remaining troops across the East River from the 
overwhelming British force. The boats were man- 
aged by companies of Marblehead fishermen, who 
thus had an opportunity of doing a most signal service. 
When Howe the next morning moved his victorious 
regulars again to the attack, his enemy was gone ! 

This masterly retreat from the very sight and 
under the guns of the enemy gave Washington a 
great reputation. He managed and watched it per- 
sonally, spending two days and two nights in his 
saddle, without rest or sleep ! 

205. Some of the Many Difficulties with which Washington 
had to struggle. — But now came the trouble that dis- 
tressed Washington all through the war — the lack 
of soldiers. The British government sent over thou- 
sands of disciplined troops, and kept them well 
equipped. 



232 The Story of American History. 

The colonies were uncertain and irregular in fur- 
nishing soldiers. The colonial money used to pay 
them rapidly lost its value ; so that Washington was 
continually distressed to procure and retain enough 
troops. Besides, the terms of enHstment were usually 
short — six months or even less — and thus his little 
army was constantly dwindling away. To add to his 
anxieties, the supply of cannon, guns, powder, cloth- 
ing, food, and all needed equipments, was often 
painfully meager. 

How then could Washington with his small and 
ill-furnished forces — his " ragged continentals " — 
oppose successfully the much larger and well-sup- 
plied troops of the enemy ? To keep risking battles 
with an army much stronger than his own would 
invite defeat and ruin. 

But there were some things he could do — watch 
the enemy sharply, harass and worry him by repeated 
small engagements, obstruct his plans, and whenever 
possible attack a small separate body and defeat or 
capture it. 

This is exactly what Washington did, and often 
with consummate skill. He won his best moves 
because he first carefully fought over all his battles 
in his own brain, and then fought them out with the 
guns of his soldiers ; for he had a faculty of inspiring 



Washington and the Revolution. 233 

his men with his own high purpose. They admired 
him as a hero, trusted him as a friend, and loved him 
as a father. 

206. The Brilliant Victory at Trenton. — Washington 
had successfully withdrawn the troops from Brooklyn, 
but he knew perfectly well that with his scanty force 
of half-trained men he could not risk a battle wath 
four times as many of the well-drilled enemy — it 
would be certain ruin to the patriot cause. 

Our army now had to retreat across New Jersey, 
the British following closely all the way ! It was a 
distressing movement and it produced general gloom. 
The country was discouraged. Congress was discour- 
aged, the army itself was becoming discouraged. The 
British said Washington did not dare to fight, and 
that the war was about over. 

In all this gloom there was only one ray of light: 
Washington never despaired! Sorely tried, he yet 
kept up his faith and hope. Sick at heart but ever 
resolute, he declared to his friends that if all others 
forsook him, he would retire to the backwoods of Vir- 
ginia and there make a final stand against Great Britain. 

Reaching the Delaware, the great commander 
crossed into Pennsylvania. General Howe came up 
on the east side, and then spread out his army, placing 
a thousand Hessians at Trenton. 



234 



The Story of American History, 



See what Washington did. On Christmas night, 
1776, he crossed the Delaware to attack the Hes- 
sians. The river 
was so full of 
floating ice that 
the Marblehead 
soldiers found it 
very hard to 
manage the 
boats. After the 
crossing, the 
men marched 
nine miles 
through snow 
and hail, some- 
times marking 
the whitened 
ground w i t h 
blood from their 
shoeless feet. 

As they drew 
near Trenton, 
Washington, who rode in front, asked a man chopping 
wood by the roadside : — 

" Which way is the Hessian picket ? " 
" I do not know," was the surly answer. 




The Night March to Trenton. 



Washington and the Revolution, 235 

" You may tell," said the officer at Washington's 
side, "for that is General Washington." 

" God bless and prosper 3/011 ! " cried the man 
instantly. "The picket is in that house, and the 
sentry stands near that tree." 

The Hessians, who were celebrating Christmas 
with wild revelry, were surprised, and soon forced to 
surrender. 

Washington was in great danger from the superior 
forces of the enemy close at hand, and was obliged 
immediately to recross the Delaware with his tired 
troops and his prisoners. The weather was so severe 
that two men w^ere frozen to death that Christmas 
night. Notwithstanding Washington's haste, he found 
time to visit the dying Hessian Commander, Colonel 
Rahl, and speak kindly to him. 

It was a battle of this kind that showed the cour- 
age and genius of a great general who, in the midst 
of the most unfavorable circumstances, could plan 
well, fight wtII, and outwit the enemy! It was such 
masterful watchfulness and bravery as this that saved 
the country. Mighty applause now rang all through 
the land ! " Hurrah for Washington, and hurrah for 
his ragged but plucky little army ! " 

Well might the people shout, for this was the first 
real victory of the continental army. Lord Howe 



236 



The Story of American History. 



was very angry and said it would never do, and he 
sent Cornwallis to defeat this rebel general. Let 
us see what Cornwallis did. The British general 

marched from 
Princeton 
with about 
eight thou- 
sand men, and 
found Wash- 
ington's army 
of some three 
thousand 
with its rear 
to the river. 
At about dusk 
he planted his 
own army in 
front, a n .d 
then felt sure 
of his prey. 
"At last we 
h ave run 

down the old fox," said the over-confident British 
general as he went to bed in high spirits, " and we 
will bag him easily in the morning." The situation 
was indeed a dangerous one for the patriot army. 




Washington before Trenton. 



Washington and the Revolution. 237 

207. How Washington surprised the British at Princeton. 

— During the night Washington left a front line 
of camp-fires burning, and a few soldiers noisily dig- 
ging trenches and throwing up breastworks, while his 
entire army made a circuitous march around Corn- 
wallis, got in his rear, attacked Princeton early, cap- 
tured three regiments and a lot of supplies, and 
moved on to Morristown, a strong place where the 
British dared not attack him. 

In this battle the commanding figure of Wash- 
ington riding to and fro on his white horse made a 
notable object for the enemy's marksmen. 

These two battles brought Washington great ap- 
plause all over this country and through Europe. 
Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, said : " This 
young American general opens a fresh chapter in 
the art of war ; England has n't a man to match 
him." 

208. How Washington helped to defeat Burgoyne. — Dur- 
ing the next year, 1777, Washington was busy watch- 
ing Lord Howe and keeping him confined closely in 
New York. Although he lacked the army w^ith which 
to fight any great battle, yet he did the greatest 
service. The British planned this year, as we have 
just read in the preceding chapter, a second effort to 
occupy the Hudson and divide the colonies. 



238 The Story of American History, 

But, as we have seen, the plan was doomed to fail- 
ure. Burgoyne was wrecked by Schuyler and Stark, 
and the Mohawk force was defeated by Arnold and 
Morgan. Then all depended on Howe's army which 
w^as to come up the Hudson. But Howe could not 
come ! Washington was skillfully blocking his plans, 
so that the British general could spare no soldiers. 
And so resulted the great surrender at Saratoga — the 
most cheering victory during this period of the war. 

Howe's army then went by sea to Philadelphia and 
wintered there. 

209. Sufferings at Valley Forge. — Washington win- 
tered at Valley Forge, not far away. The winter was 
very severe. The patriot army was ill-fed, ill-clothed, 
and unpaid. Hundreds of soldiers were barefoot, their 
bloody steps tracking the snow. Hungry, shivering, 
and bleeding, they keenly felt how much it cost to be 
a " ragged continental." 

The money issued was almost worthless, fifty dol- 
lars of paper for one of specie. It took six months' 
pay to buy a pair of boots ; for England counterfeited 
the continental money, brought over huge parcels of 
it, and put it into circulation. Congress seemed 
neglectful. Discouragement prevailed. 

Washington seemed to have the care of the whole 
patriot cause on his shoulders alone. He had every- 



Washington aiid the Revolution, 239 

thing to do, — appealing perpetually to Congress for 
action ; begging the Governors for aid ; getting food, 
arms, ammunition, and clothing ; recruiting and drill- 
ing the army ; planning campaigns ; and so working 
unceasingly in every direction. 

210. Help from France; the Battle of Monmouth. — In 
the spring of 1778 help came. The French sent 
ships, soldiers, and officers, and again the sun began 
to shine. Their help was of vital importance. Per- 
haps we could never have got on without it. 

Sir Henry Clinton, who had succeeded Lord Howe, 
fearing the approach of a French fleet, now made 
up his mind to leave Philadelphia and march across 
New Jersey to New York. Washington sent forward 
a division of his army under General Charles Lee 
to pursue the British and give them battle. The 
patriots, ready and eager to fight, came up with the 
enemy at Monmouth. Unfortunately, the mischief- 
makino- Lee, now known to have been little better 
than a traitor, ordered a retreat. 

As Washington advanced with the main army, he 
was filled with surprise and anger to learn from strag- 
glers of Lee's treacherous action. He set spurs to 
his horse and galloped to the front. 

According to tradition, this was one of the very few 
times when Washington was thought to have lost his 



240 The Slory of Ameincan History. 

self-control. With a fierce oath he demanded of Lee 
what he meant by retreating. Washington's look, 
according to Lafayette, was terrible. 

"What is the meaning of all this, sir.?^" he 
repeated. 

There could be no good answer. Lee quailed 
before his angry commander. 

Having sent the apparently treacherous officer to 
the rear, Washington showed at once his superb 
generalship. Like Sheridan at Cedar Creek, about 
which we shall hear later, he inspired his men with 
fresh courage and led them against the enemy. The 
continental army now showed the results of the long 
winter's drill at Valley Forge. The lines were re- 
formed, the main army was brought up, and the Brit- 
ish were soon repulsed. 

Clinton retreated during the same night. He 
reached New York and the protection of the fleet 
before the patriot army could overtake him. 

Such was the battle of Monmouth, fought on a 
very hot and sultry Sunday in June, 1778. It was 
the last battle in the north, and practically closed 
the campaign for the control of the Middle States. 

211. The Story of Mollie Pitcher. — The account of this 
battle would not be complete without the oft-told story 
of Mollie Pitcher. During the day a soldier having 



WaskingtoJi a7id the Revolution. 



241 







charge of a cannon was shot down at his post. His 
newly wedded wife, a young Irish woman, was at the 
time bringing water for the thirsty men from a neigh- 
boring spring. She saw her husband fall at the can- 
non he was serving, and heard his commander order 
the piece to be re- 
moved from the ^:x a . 
field. Instantly * ^^ 
dropping her pail, 
Mollie seized the 
rammer and, station- 
ing herself by the 
gun, performed her 
husband's duty with 
skill and courage all 
through the battle. 

The soldiers gave 
her the nickname of 
Major Mollie, and 
being presented to General Washington the day 
after the battle, she received a sergeant's commis- 
sion, and Congress gave her half-pay for life ! Some 
of the French officers, it is said, were so delighted 
with her courage that they presented her with a 
hat full of gold pieces and christened her " La 
Capitaine " ! 





I 

Mollie Pitcher takes her Husband's 
Place at Monmouth. 



242 The Story of American History. 

212. Washington plans the Yorktown Campaign. — In the 
spring of 1781, Washington was still hemming in 
Clinton at New York. In the south, where there had 
been severe fighting for two years, General Greene had 
driven Cornwallis from the Carolinas up to Virginia, 
and our generous friend, Lafayette, had helped push 
the British general to the point of land at Yorktown. 
Washington, learning this, arranged that the French 
fleet should sail there and prevent the escape of the 
enemy by sea. 

Then Washington planned what has been regarded 
as the proudest achievement of the war. He decided 
to hurry his own army to Yorktown, and with it and 
the southern forces and the French fleet finish the 
seven years' struggle. 

Yes ; but if Clinton should hear of it, he would 
sail from New York and checkmate the plan. How 
could Washington do all this and keep Clinton in 
the dark ? Everything turned on that. He kept up 
a lively show of activity around New York, and had 
decoy letters written to his distant generals to come 
and help him capture Clinton's army. Very strange, 
but those letters reached the British general ! 

When the right moment came, leaving a small force 
at New York for show, Washington by a swift and 
skillful movement moved his army of six thousand 



Washington and the Revolution. 243 

through Nev/ Jersey. The Commander-in-Chief was 
unsurpassed at keeping a secret. His own generals 
did not know where they were going. They marched 
to Elkton, at the head of the Chesapeake, and took 
ships for Yorktown. 

The hour for the final success of the patriot cause 
had now come. Cornwallis was shut in by sea and 
land. Washington with his own hand fired the first 
cannon of the attack. This was on October 9, 
1781. 

By night and by day the sound of the heavy guns 
was incessantly heard. The shells of the besieged 
and besiegers crossed each other in the air. 

At one time during the siege Washington, with 
many officers about him, was watching an assault 
with intense interest. Those who stood near him 
were afraid he would be hit by a chance shot, and 
one of his aids ventured to say that the situation was 
very much exposed. 

" If you think so," replied he gravely, " you are at 
liberty to step back." 

A little later a musket ball hit a cannon near the 
group and fell at Washington's feet. General Knox 
grasped his arm. 

" My dear general," exclaimed he, " we can't spare 
you yet." 



244 ^^^ Story of American History. 

" It is a spent ball," answered the Commander-in- 
Chief quietly; "no harm is done." 

When the redoubts were taken, he drew a long 
breath and said to Knox, " The work is done, and 
well done!'' During the battle, a famous Virginia 
officer, Governor Nelson, who had raised troops and 
supplied money at his own risk, was asked what part 
of the town it would be best to fire upon. He pointed 
to a large, handsome building, which he thought was 
probably the enemy's headquarters. It was his own 
house ! 

213. The Superb Victory at Yorktown. — After a few days 
of fighting, Cornwallis found himself in so hopeless 
a condition that he made an unsuccessful attempt 
to escape. Shortly afterward he was forced to sur- 
render with eleven thousand men, a hundred and 
sixty cannon, a huge amount of camp supplies, and 
ten thousand dollars in money. Five days after the 
surrender, General Clinton arrived with ships and 
heavy reinforcements. Too late. Sir Henry, too late ! 

When the news of the capture of Cornwallis reached 
London, Lord North, the British Prime Minister, 
walked up and down his room, wringing his hands 
and crying out, " O God ! it is all over ! It is all 
over ! " 

How unspeakably the great leader's heart must 



Washington and the Revolution. 245 

have rejoiced at this famous victory ; the labors, 
anxieties, and sufferings of seven years ending at last 
in glorious triumph ! The whole country gave way 
to transports of joy. Congress appointed a day of 
general thanksgiving and prayer, and voted special 
thanks to the distinguished generals and many other 
officers. It was felt that a death-blow had been given 
to England's efforts to crush the colonies. 

The victory at Yorktown practically ended the war. 
It took several years for the country to recover from 
the wreck and ruin wrought, to frame the machinery 
of our new government, and to lay the solid founda- 
tions of this grand edifice of constitutional liberty. 
In all this work of nation-building Washington was 
a prominent actor, no less sagacious as a statesman 
than as a skilled warrior. 

214. Washington, the First President of the United States. 
— When it came to the choice of a first president, all 
eyes turned to that one stately figure — to him who had 
saved his country in war, and who in peace could best 
carry its precious interests safely in his great brain 
and heart. He was unanimously elected — not a vote 
for any other person — an honor never paralleled. 
With his usual modesty he would have declined ; but 
his sense of duty and his willingness to serve his 
country made him accept. 



246 The Story of American History. 

His journey to New York was one continued ova- 
tion. Bells were rung, cannon fired, and eloquent 
addresses made. All the vessels in New York har- 
bor were gayly decked with flags. When the digni- 
fied President-elect landed, the salutes of cannon, the 
ringing of bells, and the shouts of the crowd were 
multiplied tenfold. 

On April 30, 1789, Washington took the solemn 
oath to perform the duties of the President of the 
United States. 

On this important occasion he was dressed in a 
suit of dark brown cloth of American manufacture. 
He wore white silk stockings, silver buckles and a 
steel-hilted sword. His hair was powdered and tied 
behind, according to the fashion of that time. The 
day was given up to rejoicings ; and in the evening 
there were illuminations and fireworks. 

Washington was reelected, and served his country 
honorably for two terms of four years each. His 
administration was worthy in every way of his great 
ability, his statesmanship, and his exalted patriotism. 

215. Washington retires to Private Life. — Beloved and 
honored by a whole people, but weary of public life, 
Washington at last retired to his beautiful and be- 
loved Mount Vernon to enjoy a well-earned repose. 
He took up his former manner of living. He began 



Washington and the Revolution. 



247 




to repair his buildings and to improve his estate. 
His good wife, Martha, said that she and the gen- 
eral when he left the presidency felt like children just 
released from school, and she spoke of her satisfac- 
tion in settling down again to the " duties of an old- 
fashioned Virginia housekeeper, 
steady as a clock, busy as a bee, 
and cheerful as a cricket." 

Washington was a model 
farmer. He gave personal at- 
tention to every detail. He rode 
on horseback ten or fifteen miles 
every morning, looking after his 
estate and its servants. Two 
o'clock was the dinner hour ; 
three o'clock if there were guests of importance. The 
general would not wait more than five minutes for 
any guest, however distinguished. So much time he 
allowed for the difference of watches. " My cook," 
said he, " does not ask whether the guests have arrived, 
but whether the hour has." 

Washington's dress and appearance were very sim- 
ple. " How shall I know him } " asked a gentleman 
who was about to ride off in search of him. 

" You will meet, sir," replied his friend, " an old 
gentleman riding alone in plain drab clothes, a broad- 



Martha Washington. 



248 The Story of Afnerica7i History. 

brimmed white hat, a hickory switch in his hand, and 
an umbrella with a long staff attached to his saddle- 
bow. That person, sir, is General Washington." 

A pleasant story is told by a gentleman who was a 
guest at Mount Vernon. It seems that he coughed 
much during the early part of the night. " After 
some time had elapsed," said the guest, " the door of 
my room was gently opened, and, on drawing my bed 
curtains, I saw Washington himself, standing at my 
bedside, with a bowl of hot tea in his hand." 

No wish for power, or regret at being no longer 
before the eyes of the world, ever disturbed the happi- 
ness of Washington in his retirement. A little over 
two years now passed happily at the great mansion, 
with its generous living and its gracious hospitality. 

216. Sickness and Death ; Universal Sorrow. — One day 
in December, 1799, while taking his usual ride on 
horseback Washington was exposed to rain, hail, and 
snow, with a raw wind blowing. The next day his 
family noticed that he had a slight cold, but he paid 
no heed to such trifling ailments. 

The next day he was much worse, breathed with 
difficulty, and could hardly speak. His mind was per- 
fectly clear, and he believed he should not get well. 
He was never unprepared for death. The same night 
he passed away. 



Washington and the Revolution. 



249 



Mourning spread over the whole country. In for- 
eign lands as well as at home the news was received 
with sincerest sorrow. The American people felt that 
they had indeed lost their protector, the Father of his 
Country. 




AIoUxNT Vernun, the Hu.me k^\< Washington. 



To Americans his memory will always be precious. 
His birthday is celebrated every year throughout our 
broad land ; and the bell of every steamer that glides 
along the quiet Potomac tolls as it slowly passes Mount 
Vernon, the last resting-place of George Washington ! 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE SOUTH. 

217. Utter Failure thus far to subdue the Colonists. — 
Midway in the war of the Revolution there was a 
period of over two years when active fighting was 
for the most part suspended. After the surrender 
of Burgoyne at Saratoga, the English seemed to lose 
heart. A feeble effort was even made by the British 
government to secure peace. England would yield 
everything except the claim of the colonies to inde- 
pendence. This was the very thing that now, after 
three years of fighting, the colonies would not yield. 

Each side seemed to be tired of bloodshed. The 
patriots were in a bad enough way, and England had 
her troubles with other nations. 

Of all the territory the British had occupied during 
three years, the only spot they now held was New 
York, and even there Washington's superb general- 
ship with his small but active army was giving them 
constant trouble. 

218. The British now attempt to subdue the Southern Colo- 
nies. — Thus it became necessary for the British to 

250 



The War of the Revohitioii in the Sotith. 251 



contrive some plan that would offer better results. 
They now proposed to go south, subdue one colony 
after another, and so push their conquests northward. 

The British had already tried their hand at the 
south, and with results not quite 
to their liking. In June, 1776, 
General Clinton came with a 
fleet to capture Charleston. But 
Colonel William Moultrie 
had built on an island 
in the harbor a low 
redoubt of palmetto 
logs and sand bags, 
from which his guns 
made sad havoc with 
the fleet, while the 
British shot could not 
pierce through the 
tough, spongy logs 
of the fort. After a 
disastrous fight, Clinton went back disheartened. 
The gallant defense of this fort had a most whole- 
some effect upon the patriot cause. 

One heroic deed of the battle is often told. The 
flag of the fort floated from a high mast, against which 
the enemy directed their fire until the top of the 




Sergeant Jasper's Bold Deed. 



252 The Story of American History. 

flagstaff was shot away and fell over the ramparts on 
the beach. A daring soldier by the name of William 
Jasper leaped over the wall of palmetto logs, walked the 
whole length of the fort in the face of the enemy's 
fire, tore away the flag, fastened it to the rammer of a 
cannon, and floated it on the ramparts. 

219. Disasters to the Patriot Cause. — In December, 
1778, a large British force, sent from New York, 
landed and captured Savannah with about five hun- 
dred prisoners. The enemy also captured Augusta, 
brought all Georgia under British control, and put 
the royal governor back into oflice. 

In October, 1779, our General Lincoln and a 
French fleet made a combined attack on Savannah, 
hoping to recapture it, but they utterly failed. These 
two disasters in two years were very discouraging to 
all Americans. 

The year 1780 brought still worse fortune, for 
early in the year Clinton came again from New York 
and made a second attack on Charleston. In May 
he captured the city and all Lincoln's army, with 
four hundred cannon. Clinton then returned to 
New York, leaving Cornwallis in command with five 
thousand men. 

The British, possessing Savannah and Charleston 
with the river connections, held the key to the whole 



The War of the Revohclion in the South. 253 

of Georgia and South Carolina. They could obtain 
all their supplies by water, and so did not need to 
rely upon the country for support. 

220. The Bitter and Cruel Warfare in the South. — The 
patriots did not now have a body of soldiers in the 
south large enough to call an army. The entire 
region was open to British plunder. 

Bands of soldiers roamed through the country, 
plundering, burning, and killing without restraint. 
No mercy was shown to patriots. A squad of sol- 
dier bandits once came to the home of Thomas 
Sumter, the famous patriot officer, turned his wife 
and children out of doors and burned the house. 

Sumter was a bold and energetic fighter in the 
wild warfare of the south. He was a tall and power- 
ful man and of a very stern make-up. He lived to be 
ninety-nine years of age — the last surviving general 
of the Revolution. '' But for Sumter and Marion," 
said Cornwallis, " South Carolina would be at peace." 

There now remained in South Carolina but one 
battalion of patriot soldiers. These were about four 
hundred in number under Colonel Buford, then in 
the northwestern part of the state. Clinton sent 
against him a force of seven hundred regulars and 
Tories under Colonel Tarleton, an active but base 
and cruel man. 



254 T^^^^ Story of American History. 

Tarleton surrounded the patriots and demanded 
their surrender. While Buford was quietly discuss- 
ing the matter, his soldiers resting at ease under the 
protection of a flag of truce, Tarleton treacherously 
arranged his men for an attack. Suddenly the flag 
of truce was taken down, and instantly the British 
cavalry rushed from all sides upon Buford's men and 
killed one hundred and thirteen and wounded one 
hundred and fifty. 

Even the boys were nerved to deeds of valor. A 
schoolboy named Andrew Jackson, thirteen years ofd, 
who had seen the dead of the Buford massacre, and 
helped care for the wounded, and whose own brother 
had been killed by the British, was himself captured. 
While under guard, a pompous British oflicer came 
up to him and cried out : — 

"Here, boy! clean my boots!" 

" No, sir ! clean your own boots. I am a prisoner 
of war and entitled to better treatment." 

Down came the officer's sword, aiming at the boy's 
head. Warding off the blow with his arm, he re- 
ceived a wound, the marks of which he carried to 
his grave. This boy grew up to become the seventh 
president of the United States ! 

221. General Gates meets with Disaster. — When Gen- 
eral Washington learned of the disasters in the south, 



Tke War of the Revolution in the South. 255 

the loss of Savannah and Charleston and of Lincoln's 
army, he was anxious to send down General Greene, 
his right-hand man. But Congress unwisely inter- 
fered, and sent General Gates, who had contrived to 
get the credit of Burgoyne's capture at Saratoga. 

In August, Gates moved to Camden, S. C, to meet 
Cornwallis. A strange battle ensued. Each general 
had planned to surprise the other by a night attack ; 
the armies met in the dark. Both waited till day- 
light, and then the battle began. It was a disastrous 
defeat for the patriots. Gates's army w^as destroyed. 
This was perhaps the worst catastrophe of the war. 

Now the patriot prospect was wretched enough. 
Where could there be any hope ? The Tories all 
through the state were delighted, and thronged to 
the British side. 

222. Marion proves a Source of Terror to the British. — 
The patriots felt now that they must defend them- 
selves singly or in small groups ; there was no army 
to help them. So they assembled, a few dozen here 
and there, and used their utmost endeavors on every 
opportunity to cripple the enemy. The British had 
small stations through the state, from which murder- 
ous raids could be made. They would plunder, burn, 
slay, and then return to their posts. To attack these 
posts, or to do any military work successfully, the 



256 



The Story of A merican History. 



patriots needed a leader. One soon came, Francis 
Marion, who combined a few groups of patriots and 
did most effective work with them. 

This gallant and intrepid partisan chief- 
tain was rather below the middle stature, 
lean, and swarthy. His forehead was large 
and high, and his eyes 



black and piercing. He 
was at this time about 
forty-eight years of 
age, with a body 
capable of endur- 
ing great fatigue 
and every priva- 
tion. He never 
tarnished his 
fame with acts 
of cruelty. 

" Never shall a 
house be burned 
by one of my 
men," said he ; 
" to distress help- 
less women and children is what I detest." 

Marion used to wear a close-fitting red jacket and 
a leather cap. His body was so slight that he never 




Marion's Troopers attacking a 
British Camp. 



The War of the Revolution in the South, 257 

did personal deeds of valor. His sword was so rarely 
used that once he could not draw it from the scab- 
bard on account of the rust. 

Never was Napoleon's guard more attached to their 
general than were Marion's men to the partisan chief 
who so often led them to victory. 

223. How the << Swamp Fox '^ did his Fighting. — Marion 
was familiar with the country, and in many of the 
numerous swamps he occupied, with his troopers, 
secret haunts approached by devious paths not easily 
followed. The British, smarting under his attacks, 
called him the " swamp fox " ; but he proved to them 
rather a wolf or a tiger. These patriots who sprang 
to his side to defend their homes were patriots indeed. 
They had no pay, no uniforms, and but scanty cloth- 
ing. They were a shabby-looking band of soldiers ; 
but their arms were strong and their hearts were true. 

Many had no guns, until they supplied themselves 
from the enemy. They melted their pewter dishes for 
bullets. They often made their breakfast on black- 
berries, dined on potatoes and green corn, and not 
infrequently supped on the memory of their dinner. 

Much of the time Marion himself did not have even 
a blanket. One night his bed of brush caught fire, 
and it not only burnt his blanket but singed his hair 
and spoilt his leather cap ! 



258 The Stoiy of A^nericau History. 

Marion always kept his plans secret, even from 
his own officers, until the moment for action came. 
There was an air of mystery in w^hat he undertook, 
and a bustle of hearty enterprise about his move- 
ments, which gave a charm to life in his famous 
brigade. Marion enjoyed fully the confidence of his 
men, shared all their privations, and braved more 
than his share of their dangers. 

224. One of Marion's First Exploits. — One of Marion's 
first exploits was against a large force of Tories 
under Major Gainey. Marion and his men fell on 
his camp at daybreak as suddenly as if they had 
dropped from the clouds. Gainey fled on horseback, 
closely pursued by Major James, who followed so fast 
and so far that he suddenly found himself alone and 
getting surrounded by Tories. His quick wits saved 
him. 

Turning in his saddle and waving his sword, he 
shouted back as if to a large body of followers, " Come 
on, boys ! Here they are ! " The Tories scattered 
and fled! In this little brush Marion did not lose 
a man. 

Marion was always on the alert — quick, dash, fire, 
away ! — that was his way of fighting. No wonder he 
carried terror to the enemy. And yet he never used 
exactly the same tactics twice. Once he planned to 



TJic War of the Rcvohttiou in the South. 259 

fall suddenly on a force twice as large as his own. It 
had a watchful leader who could not be caught nap- 
ping. Dangerous business, we say. Yes, but see 
how the " swamp fox " did it ! He carefully hid a 
body of his best sharpshooters in ambush along the 
road about a mile from the British. 

Then he made a lively attack on the enemy and 
soon retreated along this road. Of course the enemy 
followed briskly, when up sprang Marion's troopers 
in ambush and soon defeated them. '' All 's fair in 
war," says the proverb. 

These furious and almost incessant attacks kept 
the British in terror. They never knew when they 
were safe. 

225. Some of Marion's Famous Exploits. — Many a story 
of this daring chieftain's exploits used to be told 
by the evening fireside. In October, 1780, Marion 
brought hope to the patriots by one of his brilliant 
attacks. Colonel Tynes was gathering a large body 
of Tories to assist the British, and he held stores 
of guns, ammunition, and clothing for their use. 
Marion's scouts learned all the facts. These were 
just the articles he wanted for his half-clothed, half- 
fed, and poorly armed men. 

For him to resolve was to act. He came cautiously 
at midnight. The camp-fires were burning ; some 



2 6o The Story of A mericaji History. 

soldiers were singing, some playing cards, some eating 
stolen chickens ; but nobody was on guard. Marion's 
troopers rushed in with a wild shout, and the attack 
went all one way. A large number were killed, 
twenty-three were taken prisoners, and the supplies 
of the Tory camp were enjoyed by Marion's men for 
a long time. Not one of his force was lost. 

Soon after Gates's defeat, Marion learned by his 
scouts that the British were not far off with a large 
body of American prisoners. He sent at midnight a 
squad to hold the road to their camp, and before 
dawn he approached it silently with his own force. 
Just at daylight he made a sudden attack upon them. 
The surprise and the assault were an amazing success. 
Twenty-four of the enemy were killed or captured, 
and one hundred and fifty captives were set free, 
while not one of his men was lost. 

226. Marion invites a British Officer to Dinner. — One 
day a young British officer came to Marion under a 
flag of truce, to plan an exchange of some prisoners. 
The business finished, Marion asked the officer to 
dine with him. The dinner consisted entirely of 
baked sweet potatoes brought by a negro on a piece 
of bark for a plate, with a log for a table. 

" But this can't be your usual fare } " asked the 
Britisher. 



The War of the Revolution in the South. 261 



" Yes, indeed," said Marion, " and we are lucky 
to-day to have enough for company." 

This was no idle talk to affect the young officer, 
but it did impress him ; for the story is that on re- 
turning to his own camp he said, 
"If 



s no use trying ; I 've seen 




Marion, and I tell you that men 
who work for no pay and 
live on potatoes while 
fighting for their liberties, 
are not going to be beaten, 
and I am not going to 
fight any longer against 
them. I shall resign 
to-day." 

227. A Great Victory 
at King's Mountain. — 
After the Camden dis- 
aster the deep gloom 
continued till October, 
when Colonel Ferguson was sent with a force of 
British and Tories to the northwest to subdue the 
patriots in that region. Instantly there was a gen- 
eral uprising of the hunters and farmers of this wild 
and romantic res^ion to defend their homes from the 
brutal enemy. These hardy mountaineers, ready to 



Marion invites a British Officer 
TO dine with him. 



262 The Story of American History. 

move at a moment's warning, came from every direc- 
tion to a common meeting-place. 

At King's Mountain, in North Carolina, where the 
British were entrenched, these American riflemen 
charged up the steep sides, surrounded the enemy, 
and cut them down till about half were killed and 
the rest fled in dismay. It was a brilliant victory, 
won by sheer hard fighting, and it brought supreme 
joy to the long-suffering patriots ; for it proved to be 
decisive. It turned the tide of British rule in the south. 

228. General Greene takes Command in the South. — A 
new Continental army was now to be sent from the 
north, and this time Washington had his choice of 
commanders. He sent one of his best and most 
trusted officers, General Greene, who had been a 
Rhode Island blacksmith. He knew how to fight ; 
for he had served under the eye of Washington in 
many battles, and so had been well trained in mili- 
tary matters. 

It was in December, 1780, that Greene took com- 
mand of the so-called "southern army" at Charlotte, 
a little town in North Carolina. He had in all about 
two thousand men, but only eight hundred were fit 
for duty. 

On the day Greene took command there were not 
three days' provisions in camp. He had no money. 



The War of the Revohition in tJie South. 263 



The people would not touch the Continental paper 
money. Ably, patiently, and brilliantly, this saga- 
cious general at once set to work to effect his great 
purpose of driv- 
ing the British 
armies from the 
south. 

With Greene 
came another 
famous officer. 
General Daniel 
Morgan, the 
man who had 
marched with 
Arnold to Can- 
ada, and who 
c o m m a n d e d 
the infantry at 
Stillwater and 
Saratoga. 

This was the 
man who, when 
he heard of 
Lexington, led 
his riflemen six hundred miles in twenty-one days, 
from Virginia, to join Washington in Cambridge. 




General Greeine taking Command of the 
Southern Army. 



264 The Story of American History. 

Morgan was of gigantic stature, vast physical 
strength, and wonderful powers of endurance. In his 
youth he was a teamster. One day by order of a 
tyrannical British officer he was given five hundred 
lashes for some slight offense. He walked away 
saucy and defiant as before. 

Of a gentle and unselfish nature, resolute, fearless 
in battle, a born fighter, Morgan was the ideal leader 
of the riflemen of the frontier. His force was smaller 
than Greene's, who had detached him to occupy a 
post in South Carolina. 

229. How General Morgan defeated the British at Cowpens. 
— Cornwallis in January, 1781, sent Tarleton with 
eleven hundred troops to meet Morgan and dispose 
of him. They met at Cowpens, but Morgan, with 
a smaller army, reversed the order and disposed of 
Tarleton ! He killed a large number, ten officers 
and more than one hundred men, took over five 
hundred prisoners, with all the artillery and stores. 

It was at Cowpens that Colonel Washington, a 
distant relative of the Commander-in-Chief, wounded 
Tarleton in a hand-to-hand combat. Shortly after- 
wards this hated British officer said to a lady : — 

" You seem to think very highly of Colonel Wash- 
ington ; and yet I have been told that he is so igno- 
rant a fellow that he can hardly write his name." 



The War of the Revolution in the South. 265 

" It may be so," quickly replied the lady ; " but no 
man can testify better than yourself that he knows 
how to ' make his mark.' " 

At another time the haughty Tarleton, boasting of 
his own deeds and speaking with disdain of the con- 
tinental cavalry, said to a lady : — 

" I have a very earnest desire to see your far-famed 
hero. Colonel Washington." 

" Your wash, colonel, might have been gratified," 
she promptly replied, " had you dared to look behind 
you at the battle of Cowpens ! " 

230. Greene's Masterly Retreat. — How angry Corn- 
wallis w^as at the ruin of his best army at Cowpens ! 
He started to pursue Morgan and punish him. But 
the patriot general foresaw this, and not having sol- 
diers enough, he got well ahead, and one day at dusk 
crossed the Catawba River. The advanced detach- 
ment of Cornwallis's army came up two hours later, 
and waited for morning. That night a heavy rain 
swelled the stream and checked the British advance. 
Morgan pushed on to the Yadkin and crossed, meet- 
ing Greene's army. 

Determined that his little band should not be 
destroyed, since the fate of the war in the south 
depended upon it, and not being strong enough to 
meet Cornwallis with his well-equipped regiments 



266 The Story of Americaii History. 

in open battle, Greene now planned a retreat with as 
much method and care as he would have exercised 
in preparing for a battle. 

The river Roanoke for a long distance runs near the 
boundary between Virginia and North Carolina. The 
upper portion of this stream is called the Dan. Greene 
now started for the fords of this river, seventy miles 
away, with Cornwallis close at his heels. The roads 
were deep with mud and almost impassable. The 
patriot soldiers, wretchedly clothed and nearly bare- 
foot, struggled along, marking the road, as Greene 
wrote to Washington, with blood-stained tracks. 

" How vou must suffer from the cold ! " said the 
general to a barefooted sentry. 

" I do not complain," replied the soldier ; " I know 
I should fare well if our general could procure sup- 
plies ; and if, as you say, we fight in a few days, I 
shall take care to o:et some shoes." 

It was a most masterly and gallant retreat. The 
men w^ere kept in hand, and a serious encounter with 
the enemy was avoided. 

One morning during the retreat, when everything 
seemed dark, Greene rode up to the door of a tavern. 
The host, a true friend, met him. 

" What ! alive, my dear general } " 

" Yes ; tired, hungry, alone, and penniless." 



The War of the Revoliitioii in the South. 267 



The hostess, Mrs. Elizabeth Steele, was of the stuff 
of which patriots are made. She gave the weary 
general a good breakfast, and while he was eating she 
put in his hands a bag filled with bright silver 
dollars, saying, " You need them, and 
I can do without them." 

As the story goes, the gallant 
Greene, admiring the 
devotion of the noble 
woman, stepped to the 
mantel, over which 
hung a portrait of 
King George, turned 
it to the wall, and 
wrote upon the back, 
'' Hide thy face. King 
George, and blush ! " 

Cornwall is pressed 
the patriots hard 
throuorh forests and over streams, but he was baffled 
at every move. Reaching the river Dan, the Ameri- 
can army was safely carried over by the boats which 
its sagacious commander had arranged for many 
days before. 

Cornwallis came up in hot haste only to find that 
the deep and rapid river flowed between him and his 




The Patriotic and Generous 
Landlady. 



268 The Story of Ajnerican History. 

foe. It would have been madness for him to cross 
the river. He sullenly withdrew his army to a point 
farther south. 

231. Greene now begins to fight and shows Rare General- 
ship. — Having recruited and rested his men, Greene 
moved his army south of the Dan and began active 
operations. He followed sharply after Cornwallis, 
and in March brought him to battle at Guilford. 
The fight was severe, and the British general, though 
he gained the advantage, was so roughly handled that 
he retired towards Wilmington, the nearest point on 
the coast. 

Greene now made a bold and hazardous move. 
Instead of preventing Cornwallis from advancing to 
the north, he left the British general to do as he 
pleased, faced about suddenly and boldly marched 
to South Carolina. His plan was to thrust himself 
between the main British army and its southern divi- 
sion and then attack the latter and their fortified 
posts. 

Like a skillful general, having decided upon this 
daring change, Greene acted quickly. He marched 
with all speed for Camden, one hundred and sixty 
miles distant. His object was to break the British 
hold upon South Carolina. 

A brighter day was now dawning, and the sunshine 



The War of the Revohttion in the South, 269 

of hope was soon to appear. The adroit activities of 
Marion, Sumter, and Pickens, and the skill and vigor 
of Greene and Morgan were now bringing their har- 
vest, and they gave the patriots new life and cheer. 

At Hobkirks Hill, near Camden, Greene attacked 
the British. He was defeated, but it was a fruitless 
victory. 

" We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again," wrote 
Greene to a friend. 

One by one the strong posts of the enemy in South 
Carolina fell into our hands. The British hold on 
both the Carolinas was slowly but surely broken. 
The enemy wisely kept near the coast. The last 
battle of the long and stubborn struggle was fought 
at Eutaw Springs, S. C, in September, 1781. The 
contest was desperate on both sides ; but the British, 
badly crippled, retreated in the night to Charleston. 

232. Greene's Brilliant Campaign in the South. — Greene 
had with the scantiest of means done a great work in 
his southern campaign. He had driven Cornwallis 
to Virginia, to meet his fate at Yorktown. He had 
cleared both Carolinas of the British and restored 
them to the patriots. 

In few if any campaigns carried on with small 
armies was ever so effective and brilliant work done 
as did General Greene with his little force of patriots. 



270 The Story of Anicjncau History. 

Most mortifying was it to the haughty British com- 
manders to know that they had been out-generaled, 
out-marched, and in the long run, out-fought by a 
Yankee blacksmith. 

The war in the south was now soon over. Savan- 
nah was captured in July, 1782; in December, 1783, 
the British left Charleston. It was a proud day for 
Greene and Morgan and Marion when they followed 
with their army on the heels of the departing foe. 
As the patriots marched in, happy thousands cheered, 
and floral wreaths flew from crowded windows. 

The noble Greene lived only a few years after 
he had carried the Revolution to a triumph in the 
south. He died in 1786 from the effects of a sun- 
stroke. 

Among the great generals of the American Revo- 
lution, it is generally admitted that Greene ranked, 
in military genius, second only to Washington. 

General Anthony Wayne, called " Mad Anthony" 
on account of his daring, who had fought by the 
side of Greene, and who watched by the death-bed of 
his comrade, wrote to a friend : " He was great as a 
soldier, great as a citizen, immaculate as a friend. 
The honors — the greatest honors of war — are 
due his remains. I have seen a great and good 
man die." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE STORY OF ARNOLD'S TREASON. 

233. A Gloomy Outlook for the Patriot Cause in 1780. — 
During the long war of the ReYolution from Lexing- 
ton in 1775 to Yorktown in 1781, there were many 
times when it seemed as if it were really of no use 
for the Americans to fight for independence. Of 
these years probably 1780 was the darkest. 

We have just read of the sad disasters in the south 
during this year. If " hope long deferred maketh the 
heart sick," surely our forefathers had at this time 
ample cause for discouragement. It seemed to many, 
no doubt, that the policy of the British Parliament of 
" tiring the Americans out " might succeed after all. 

Financial matters were in a deplorable condition. 
Congress had no authority to raise money by taxa- 
tion to carry on the war. Sometimes the colonies 
responded to the call for money from Congress; 
oftener they did not. There were paper promises 
enough issued by Congress and known as continental 
currency, but they had sadly fallen in value. Wash- 
ington, it is said, once remarked that it took a wagon- 

271 



272 The Story of Ajnerican History. 

load of it to buy a wagon-load of provisions. Samuel 
Adams tells us that he paid two thousand dollars for 
a hat and a suit of clothes. 

A tradesman, to show his contempt for it, papered 
his shop with continental currency. The current 
phrase, " not worth a continental," has survived all 
these years as a reminder of the deplorable condition 
of our finances at this time. No wonder the famish- 
ing and half-frozen soldiers in Washington's army, 
when paid off in the flimsy stuff, were mutinous at 
times, and that the desertions averaged more than 
a hundred a month. 

234. Arnold the Traitor. — In the midst of all the 
trials of this " year of disasters," the country was 
startled by the disclosure of a plot of the blackest 
treason. The recklessly brave but unscrupulous 
Arnold proved himself a traitor of the deepest 
dye. 

Born in Connecticut, he was early known as " a bad 
boy." From earliest childhood he was disobedient, 
cruel, reckless, and profane, caring little or nothing 
for the good will of others. While he was apprentice 
to an apothecary he enlisted in the colonial army, 
but soon deserted. Afterwards he set up as druggist 
in New Haven, but wasted the money he earned and 
ended the business by becoming bankrupt. 



The Story of Arnold's Treason. 273 

235. His Brilliant Military Career. — When the startling 
news from Lexington thrilled all the country, Arnold 
raised a company of soldiers and was appointed 
captain. Soon he became colonel and aided Ethan 
Allen in the attack on Forts Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point. Next he was sent to assist General Mont- 
gomery in the assault on Quebec, where he proved 
himself a valiant soldier. He received a severe 
wound in the leg w^hile gallantly leading his men. 
For these useful services. Congress made him a 
brigadier-general. 

Soon after this, Congress bestowed upon five 
prominent brigadiers the distinguished rank of major- 
general, but Arnold was not one of them. He felt 
slighted and became very jealous. Washington wrote 
him a kindly letter, which partly appeased his 
wounded vanity. 

During the Burgoyne campaign, as we have read, 
Arnold won special renown for his splendid bravery 
at the battle of Saratoga, where he was again 
wounded. For his signal valor in this battle he 
was now made a major-general. But even this prob- 
ably failed to satisfy him ; for there were still five 
others superior to him in rank. 

236. The Beginning of his Wicked Career. — As his 
wounded leg needed rest, Arnold obtained from 



2 74 ^/^^ Story of American History. 

Washington, in the summer of 1778, the command 
of Philadelphia, lately evacuated by the British. 
During his nine months there his conduct was bad. 
His manners were haughty and insolent. He lived 
with costly extravagance far beyond his means, drove 
a fine coach and four, and gave splendid parties. 
His associates were largely among the Tories, and 
he married a Miss Shippen, a bitterly disloyal young 
woman. His intimate friends were now for the most 
part the enemies of his country. 

Arnold's expensive habits of living soon brought 
him deeply in debt, and when the storekeepers urged 
payment of their bills, he contrived dishonest methods 
of obtaining money belonging to the government. 
Formal charges of misconduct were made ; he was 
tried, found guilty, and sentenced to the very mild 
punishment of a public reproof by the Commander- 
in-Chief. This reprimand Washington performed as 
gently as possible, sparing his feelings by combining 
high praise for his past heroism with censure for his 
late misdeeds. 

Arnold was angry. He had hoped to escape all 
censure. You may know how black a villain he was 
from the fact that, in his speech in court, defending 
himself, he spoke of his past services in battle and 
promised even more faithful devotion in future to his 



The Stury of Aruolcrs Treason. 275 

dear country, which he said he loved as his own Hfe. 
It came out afterwards that even then he had been 
for months secretly exchanging letters with Sir Henry 
Clinton, and plotting how to betray his country ! His 
letters were signed " Gustavus," and were secretly sent 
by his wife. The replies from Clinton purported to 
be from " John Anderson." 

237. Secretly plans to betray his Country. — Arnold 
knew that of all things Clinton most longed to get 
possession of West Point ; for it was the key of the 
river northward up to Lake Champlain, and it also 
controlled the crossing between New England and 
the Middle States. Arnold studied how to betray 
it, and by one bad act to satisfy both his revenge and 
his greed for money. 

The first thing to do was to change the sullenness 
that had marked his behavior since the trial. He at 
once became cheerful, loudly patriotic, and so eager 
to help his dear country ! Next he contrived to per- 
suade some prominent officers to induce Washington 
to appoint him to the command of West Point. Not 
suspecting his treachery, Washington gave him the 
place. He took command in August, 1780. 

238. Arnold and Andre meet, and plot Treason. — Now 
Arnold's plot began to ripen. But Clinton wanted 
to be very sure of what he was doing. He concluded 



276 The Story of American History. 

to send a trusty officer to meet Arnold and settle 
the plan beyond doubt. So he selected the Adjutant 
General of his army, a brilliant young officer, Major 
John Andre, who knew all about it thus far, for he 
was the " John Anderson " who had, under Clinton's 
directions, answered the " Gustavus " letters. 

On the morning that he started, Andre had a part- 
ing lunch with his fellow officers, with wine-drinking 
and song-singing — a right jolly time! Ah! if he 
could only have foreseen ! Andre was an estimable 
young man, brave, educated, accomplished, a poet, an 
artist, and brought up in the best society of England. 

Andre went up the Hudson in the sloop-of-vvar 
Vulture. After the moon went down, and it was 
dark enough for. such a deed, a boat came silently 
from the west shore near Haverstraw, and took back 
from the vessel a tall young man wrapped in a black 
cloak. Arnold met him on the bank and led him 
into a thicket of fir trees. There, like two ugly 
spirits of evil, they crouched in the darkness, and 
talked over the details of the dastardly deed. 

Arnold, eager for British gold, haggled for a higher 
price. They plotted the utter ruin of the patriot 
cause, till, at the earliest streak of dawn, boom ! 
boom ! sounded some cannon ! The traitor was 
frightened ! One of our shore batteries was firing 



The Story of Arnold's Treason. 277 

a few shots at the Vulture, so that she had to drop 
down stream a few miles. Andre therefore could 
not return directly to the Vulture, but was obliged 
to remain hidden all that day. 

The plans had all been arranged. Clinton was to 
send up a fleet with soldiers to West Point, and 
Arnold was meanwhile to have removed most of his 
troops from the fort on some pretense, so that Clin- 
ton's force could easily capture it. Arnold gave 
Andre some papers to carry to Clinton, maps of 
the fort, wdth instructions how to approach and 
take it. 

Sir Henry had warned Andre not to receive any 
papers from Arnold nor to put on any disguise. 
Andre for some reason did not obey these orders. 
He may have suspected that, after all, some trap was 
planned to deceive the British, and thought best to 
carry back papers in Arnold's own handwriting. At 
all events, it was a fatal mistake for poor Andre. 

239. Capture of Andre. — Andre wore long riding- 
boots. Between his stockings and the soles of his 
feet he put these papers. He took also a pass from 
Arnold to carry him through the guards. The Vul- 
ture having dropped down the river, Andre crossed 
over and set out on horseback to go back to New 
York on the east side. 



278 The Story of American History, 

All went well until he reached the vicinity of 
Tarrytown. At this time the region was infested 
with "cowboys" and "skinners," who under the pre- 
tense of keeping up a partisan warfare for their 
respective sides used to steal whatever they could 
find. 

On this morninor several men from the American 

o 

army had been sent out to look after the " cowboys." 
As Andre rode along, three of this party sprang from 
the bushes, leveled their muskets at him, and ordered 
him to halt. They were young men, and their names 
were John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van 
Wart. One of them happened to have on the coat 
of a Hessian soldier whom he had captured. This 
may have misled Andre and prompted him to make 
a blunder. 

" Gentlemen," said Andre, " I hope you belong to 
our side." 

"Which side.f^" asked Van Wart. 

" The lower party," answered Andre. " I am a 
British officer on urgent duty, and hope you will 
not detain me." 

Then the three patriots ordered him off his horse. 
Andre saw his mistake. He showed them Arnold's 
pass, but they insisted on searching him. They 
examined his saddle, took ofT his coat and vest, but 



The Story of Arnold's Treason. 



279 



finding nothing wrong, were about to let him go, 
when Paulding said : — 

" Boys, I am not satisfied ; his boots must come off." 

Andre objected. His boots were very tight. He 
must not be detained. The patriots 
would suffer if they stopped him. 

But off came the boots, and out 
came the fatal papers ! 

" Boys, this fine 
fellow is a spy ! " 
exclaimed Paul- 
ding. 

Andre offered 
his captors his 
splendid gold 
watch, his horse, 
and a thousand 
dollars in money, 
if they would 
only let him off. 
The three com- 
mon soldiers 
proved true to 
themselves and to their great cause and refused a 
bribe. Believing their captive to be a spy, they took 
him to their commander, Colonel Jameson. 




Capture of Andre. 



28o The Story of American History. 

240. The Arch Traitor makes his Escape. — This officer 
made the blunder of sending a messenger to Arnold 
with a letter saying a certain John Anderson had 
been arrested ! The horseman found the arch traitor 
at breakfast with several of his prominent officers as 
his guests. His beautiful young wafe was presiding 
with charming grace at the table. 

Arnold, concealing his terror, left the table, kissed 
his sleeping babe, told his fainting wife he might 
never see her again, seized a horse, galloped to the 
river, sprang into a boat, and urged the oarsmen by 
their love of money and rum to row him to the 
Vulture. When the boat reached the vessel, the 
traitor was so mean as to hand over the poor oars- 
men as prisoners. But the British captain gener- 
ously sent them back. 

Washington arrived at Arnold's house a few hours 
after he had escaped, and when the papers in Arnold's 
handwriting w^ere shown him, his hand shook; he was 
overwhelmed with amazement and sorrow. 

Turning to Lafayette, with tears running down 
his cheeks, and choking with grief, he cried out : — 

" Arnold is a traitor, and has fled to the British ! 
Whom can we trust now } " 

It was only for a moment. The next instant 
Washington had recovered his iron self-control. 



The Story of ArnoUVs Treason. 281 

241. What became of Arnold. — Washington contrived 
an ingenious plan to capture Arnold, but it failed. 
The traitor got his reward; he was made a major- 
general in the British army and received thirty thou- 
sand dollars for his villany. But the gold turned to 
ashes in his hands. Everybody despised him. Men 
pointed the finger of scorn at him, saying, " There 
goes Arnold the traitor." 

A member of Parliament, in the midst of a speech, 
saw Arnold in the gallery, and, pausing, said, '^ Mr. 
Speaker, I will not go on while that traitor is in the 
house." 

Washington had, all the years before, been Arnold's 
steadfast friend. He admired one who could fight 
with such energy, and w^ho never knew fear. After 
the treason it is said that Washington could never 
mention the traitor's name without a shudder. 

" What do you think of the doings of that diabolical 
dog } " wrote Colonel Williams, the gallant southern 
fighter, to General Morgan. 

" Curse on his folly and perfidy ! " said the noble- 
hearted General Greene. " How mortifying to think 
that he is a New Englander ! " 

242. Andre's Sad Fate. — The three faithful men who 
captured Andre were highly honored. Each received 
a silver medal from Congress, with a life pension of 



282 The Story of Ainericafi History. 

two hundred dollars a year. Their graves are marked 
by worthy monuments. 

But poor Andre ! what became of him ? He was 
tried within a week by a court-martial of fourteen 
generals and condemned to death as a spy. 

" We cannot save him," said the kindly old veteran, 
Baron Steuben. " Oh that we had the traitor who 
has dragged this gallant young officer to death, so 
that he might suffer in his stead ! " Andre wrote a 
full and frank letter to Washington, urging that he 
was not really a spy. All Americans felt deep pity 
for him because of his youth, his virtues, his many 
accomplishments, his belief that he was serving his 
country, and because he had been the victim of a 
villain. 

But Americans could not forget that the British, 
four years before, had captured a brave young Ameri- 
can officer. Captain Nathan Hale, and hanged him as 
a spy without any manifestation of pity or sympathy. 

The officer who commanded the escort that brought 
Andre across the Hudson to the main army was a 
college classmate of Hale. As the young officers 
rode along on horseback, mention was made of 
Hale's sad fate. 

" Surely," said Andre, " you do not think his case 
and mine alike ! " 



The Story of ArnohTs Treasoii. 283 

" They are precisely alike," answered the officer, 
" and similar will be your fate." 

Washington, who shed tears when he signed the 
death warrant, would gladly have saved Andre's life ; 
but the stern rules of war and the good of the Ameri- 
can cause left no room for mercy. His execution 
was put off one day, it is said, in hope that Arnold 
might be captured and made to suffer in his stead. 

Andre bravely faced the awful event, and on the 
morning of the day of his death conversed freely and 
even cheerfully. He was disturbed only about the 
mode of his death ; he begged to be shot as a soldier, 
and not hanged as a spy ; but the grim custom and 
rules of war forbade. 

243. Arnold dies in Disgrace. — Arnold lived in Lon- 
don for more than twenty years after his foul treason. 
No doubt they were years of bitter remorse and self- 
reproach. His wife proved herself a devoted woman. 
Arnold's children and grandchildren all felt keenly 
the disgrace that rested upon the family. 

As the traitor came to his final sickness, his mind 
seemed to recall the days when he fought for his 
country with distinction. He thought of the stead- 
fast friendship that Washington once cherished for 
him. After Saratoga, this friend had presented him 
with epaulettes and a sword-knot, and put them on 



284 



The Story of American History. 



with his own hand. The old uniform in which he 

had fought his battles, and which he wore on the day 

he escaped to the Vulture, had been carefully kept 

, during all these 

years of disgrace. 

Just before his 
death the desolate 
old man called for 
these sad reminders 
and put them on 
again. 

"Let me die," 
said he, " in this old 
uniform in which I 
fought so many bat- 
tles for my country. 
May God forgive 
me for ever putting 
on any other ! " 
Thus perished the man who, with the exception 
of Washington and Greene, prior to his infamous 
deed, had done perhaps more efficient service for the 
cause of our independence than any other American 
general. 

Think of the contrast between the deep infamy of 
an Arnold and the patriotic grit and unselfishness of 




On his Deathbed Arnold calls for 
HIS Old Uniform. 



The Story of Arnold's Treason. 285 

those ragged, half-starved Pennsylvania soldiers who 
rose in mutiny during the next winter. Mad Anthony 
Wayne had led some of these men at the storming of 
Stony Point, and he was dearly beloved by them all ; 
yet they would not obey even him. 

As Wayne was speaking to them, two men, who 
had been sent by General Clinton to tamper with the 
mutineers and offer a bounty and high pay if they 
would enlist in the British army, were detected. The 
soldiers in their wrath turned these emissaries over 
to their general, and they were hanged as spies. 

" Tell General Clinton," said these men who had 
not received a cent of pay to send home to their 
families for over a year, " that we are not Benedict 
Arnolds." 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

JOHN PAUL JONES: OUR FIRST GREAT NAVAL HERO. 

244. The Colonies poorly prepared to cope with England 
on the Sea. — Now we must remember that the Ameri- 
can Revolution, which lasted about seven years, and 
which resulted in our independence, was fought 
almost entirely on land. We were poor, and besides 
had but little or no experience in building men-of-war. 
The few vessels that had been built in this country 
were mostly sloops or schooners for fishing, or for 
trading. 

In this lack of large sailing craft during the Revo- 
lution, we should have got on very poorly but for the 
generous aid of France. When Washington's forces 
closed in upon the enemy at Yorktown, he would not 
then have been able to capture the whole British 
army and so end the great struggle, but for the 
thirty-six French ships that arrived just in time to 
give us the assistance we so much needed. 

In the first years of the war the colonies began to 
build a number of warships, but these were of little 
account compared with the navy of England. Such 

2S6 



John Paul Jones. 287 

few vessels as we already had were hastily fitted up 
for naval service and armed with small cannon. 
These had to make up for their want of size by 
the boldness of their crews and the quickness of 
their movement. 

Privateering was then very common. This means 
that a vessel owned or officered by private persons 
has a commission from the government to go out and 
attack the enemy's vessels. Without this authority 
it would have been regarded as a pirate. 

245. John Paul Jones begins his Remarkable Career. — The 
feeble colonies had then not only few vessels, but few 
officers to command them. There was one officer, 
however, John Paul Jones, who soon became widely 
famous as a naval commander of extraordinary cour- 
age and superb audacity. He was born in Scotland. 
When a boy of only twelve years he began to go to 
sea. In time he visited his elder brother, a farmer 
in Virginia. During the next few years he made a 
number of voyages to the West Indies, and became 
rich by his skill in trading. 

When the war of the Revolution began, this ener- 
getic young Scotch sailor determined to take an 
active part in it. He entered the navy in 1775, 
when twenty-eight years old, and became lieutenant 
of the sloop-of-war Alfred. 



288 The Story of _A-merican History, 

On this vessel Paul Jones hoisted to the masthead 
the first American flag ever displayed over an Ameri- 
can warship. It was a yellow silk flag showing a pine 
tree, with a rattlesnake coiled at its root as if about 
to strike, and the motto, " Don't tread on me." Our 
present flag, with its beautiful stripes and glowing 
stars, was adopted by Congress two years later. 

The Alfred was the flagship of a little fleet of 
seven vessels. They soon captured two British ves- 
sels from the Bahamas, then went to Nassau, the 
capital of the islands, took the governor prisoner, and 
carried away nearly a hundred cannon with a large 
quantity of military supplies. On the way home they 
seized two more British vessels. On a later cruise, 
of forty-seven days, Jones took sixteen prizes. 

246. John Paul Jones performs Daring Deeds on the English 
Coast. — Afterwards Paul Jones went to France, and 
sailing from Brest in his ship the Ranger, he swept 
the seas all around England, taking or destroying 
every hostile ship he met. He was so audacious as 
to sail into British ports, wrecking and pillaging 
everywhere. He entered the harbor of Whitehaven, 
England, surprised the forts, spiked the guns, and 
burned some ships at the docks. English commerce 
was crippled, insurance rates rose to a fabulous price, 
and merchants met with enormous losses. 



John Paul Jones. 



289 



The English were so alarmed that they sent out the 
well-armed sloop-of-war Drake to capture Jones and 
bring him in a prisoner. But the daring hero turned 
the game just the other way. He met the British 
craft in the Irish Sea, and 
after a severe battle of 
over an hour he captured 
her with more than two 
hundred prisoners and 
took the prize to Brest. 
All this pleased the French 
wonderfully, for they had 
had war with England. 

In fact all Europe rang 
with the praises of John 
Paul Jones. 

247. Jones's Interview with Franklin ; secures Help from 
France. — The American Commissioner^ in Paris, of 
whom Franklin was the leader, promised Jones a 
much larger ship ; but they could not get the money 
to pay for it, and Jones was very impatient to be off 
to sea again. He went to the harbor of Lorient, on 
the west coast of France, to choose a ship. Week 
after week he waited for an order from Paris to buy 
the vessel, but none came. 

One day, while in a restaurant, the young officer 




John Paul Jones. 



290 The Story of American History, 

took up a copy of Poor Richard's Almanac, a very 
unique little annual, really the work of Franklin. 
Reading the bright sayings scattered over every 
page, he came upon this maxim : " If you would 
have your business done, go ; if not, send ! " 

The truth of the homely saying came to his mind 
like a flash. He sprang to his feet. 

" That was written for me," he said. " Here I am, 
sending to Paris, when I ought to go ! " 

He started at once. He appealed to the Minister 
of Marine, and then to King Louis himself. He 
pleaded his way to success. The king immediately 
gave him a forty-gun ship at Lorient. He went back 
and took command. The first thing Paul Jones did 
was to paint out the old name and give for a new one 
the French equivalent of Dr. Franklin's almanac 
name, Bon Homme Richard (" Poor Richard," or 
" Goodman Richard ") ; for he gave the credit of his 
sudden success to Franklin's wise maxim. 

248. The Battle between the Bon Homme Richard and the 
Serapis. — Our daring mariner soon sailed out with 
six other vessels, all flying the beautiful new Ameri- 
can flag. The crew on the Richard numbered nearly 
four hundred men, a medley of sailors from almost 
every nation in Europe, and even including some 
Malays. He sailed up between England and Ireland, 



John Paul Jones. 291 

taking a number of prizes, then around the north of 
Scotland and down on the east coast of England. 

Here, in the evening of a clear September day in 
1779, his little fleet met, off Flamborough, the new 
British ship of forty-four guns, commanded by Cap- 
tain Pearson. The Serapis, though a larger and 
better ship than the old Richard, tried to escape, but 
the Richard chased her and brought her to. It was 
just at twilight, and so near the land that crowds of 
people thronged the shores to see the contest. 

As darkness settled down, the ships drew nearer. 
Just then the full moon rose slowly over the sea, and 
right in the range of its broad field of light were the 
dark shapes of the two hostile vessels. 

Now they draw closer. On each ship rests a still- 
ness like that of death. The men stand at their guns 
silent and thoughtful. The thousands on shore hold 
their breath. Silently up goes the British flag on the 
mainmast of the Serapis, and over the Richard waves 
the new banner of the " stars and stripes." 

" Ship ahoy ! " shouted Captain Jones through his 
speaking trumpet. 

"Aye, aye ! " was the reply from the English vessel. 

"What's your name?" came ringing over the 
water. 

" His majesty's ship Serapis ! What 's yours } " 



292 The Story of Ame^Hcan History. 

" Bon Homme Richard ! " replied the gallant Jones ; 
" haul down your flag ! " 

The Engb'shman's answer was the flash and boom 
of a cannon shot that whizzed through the rigging of 
the Richard. Then raged the lightning and thunder 
of battle. Fast and furious was the roar of the big 
guns, now from this ship, now from that. 

They drift nearer together; now their rigging is 
entangled ; now they touch ! Now the struggling 
crews fight hand to hand. Right and left the con- 
flict rages, with pikes and pistols and cutlasses. 

Jones is now here, now there, seeing all, controlling 
all, and mixing with the bravest, now training some 
gun, now pulling at some rope or cheering some 
lagging sailor lad. His strong will and sturdy pluck 
give new life to his men. They cheer as their shot 
begin to tell. The air is filled with the crash of can- 
non, the rattle of pistols, the orders of ofiicers, the 
yells of the crews, and the groans of the dying. 

The American flag is obscured with smoke, so that 
Captain Pearson, not seeing it, shouts, " Are you 
ready to surrender } " 

Instantly comes Jones's defiant reply, "Surrender! 
I've not yet begun to fight!" 

Then Jones lashed the ships together, while the 
cannon balls tore through the vessels, cut the masts, 



Jo hi Paul Jones. 



293 



and scattered the wounded and dead all around. The 
Richard is leaking badly, but the fight still rages. 
Marines in the rigging bring down the enemy with 
incessant shots, and hurl grenades that fire the Serapis. 
The flames spread ; both ships are on fire ! but 
still the big guns 
roar. Both vessels 
have been on fire ^" 

three times, but the 
pumps are at work ^"^ 

and the battle still 
rages. The scene is 
one of appalling, in- 
describable gran- 
deur. Finally, at 
about ten o'clock, 
Captain Pearson 
sees there is no hope 
aeainst such a foe as 




The Battle between the Bon Homme 
Richard and the Serapis. 



this, and so strikes 
his flag. When the haughty English captain gave 
up his sword to the brave Yankee sailor, he said : " I 
cannot but feel much mortification at the idea of sur- 
rendering my sword to a man who has fought me 
with a rope round his neck." 

The gallant Jones received the Englishman's 



294 ^^^^ Story of American History. 

sword, and at once returned it, saying, " You have 
fought bravely, sir, and I hope your king will give 
you a better ship." 

Thus ended one of the most desperate sea fights 
recorded in naval history. The Bon Homme Richard 
was a complete wreck and was fast sinking. Accord- 
ingly Jones took all on board the Serapis, which of 
course was then under his command, and in a few 
hours the American vessel went down in the deep 
sea, carrying with her the bodies of her dead. The 
victorious commander took - the Serapis, with all his 
prisoners, into a Holland port. 

249. Effect of this Grand Naval Victory ; After-Lif e of Paul 
Jones. — This famous victory was a severe blow to 
England's naval prestige. The moral effect upon 
the nations of Europe of such a victory within sight 
of the English coast was something remarkable. 

Franklin praised Jones, and Washington wrote him 
a warm letter of thanks. The French king invited 
him to his palace, and presented him with a superb 
gold-mounted sw^ord. The empress of Russia gave 
him an honorary ribbon, and the king of Denmark 
awarded him a pension. 

In America this victory brought universal joy, and 
Congress bestowed on the victor a large gold medal. 
The brave Captain Pearson was afterwards knighted 



John Paiil Jones. 295 

by his king. On hearing of it, Jones said, " He 
deserves it ; and if I fall in with him again I '11 
make a lord of him." 

After a few years' further service in our navy, Paul 
Jones was offered a position of honor in the Russian 
navy. He accepted it and soon won a brilliant vic- 
tory in the Black Sea over the Turks, who were 
frightened at his remarkable bravery. 

Afterwards, when living in Paris, Jones became 
broken down in health. No wonder, for he had 
fought twenty-four naval battles ! When he was 
taken sick, the queen sent her physician to attend 
him. He died in Paris in 1792, at the early age of 
forty-five, thirteen years after his memorable victory. 
No one knows the place of his burial. At the pub- 
lic funeral a vast concourse filled the streets of the 
French capital. 

General sorrow was shown throughout the United 
States at the death of John Paul Jones, the great 
ocean hero of the Revolution — indeed, the first 
heroic character in our country's naval history. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: HIS HIGHLY USEFUL CAREER. 

250. Benjamin Franklin, one of the most Useful and Influ- 
ential Men of his Time. — Among the many men who 
acted a conspicuous part as " makers of our country," 
Benjamin Franklin holds a unique and interesting 
place. Combined with shrewd common sense and 
a practical philosophy was a genial and rare person- 
ality, which made him during his long lifetime a 
most useful and influential citizen. 

Franklin did not fight and win battles like Wash- 
ington and Greene, but he gained notable victories 
in diplomacy when the struggling colonies sorely 
needed them. For over sixty years he wrote hun- 
dreds of pamphlets, tracts, and newspaper articles, 
which moulded public opinion at critical times, and 
also served to increase the comfort and happiness 
of his fellow-men. 

Most men who have attempted to write their own 

lives have made a sad failure of it. This busy man 

of the world, with no education save that which he 

was able to get in the " odds and ends " of time, told 

296 



Benjamin Frank Ihi. 297 

the story of his own life in a way that has commanded 
the interest and admiration of multitudes of readers 
for over a hundred years. 

251. Franklin's Early Life ; his Genius for Useful Inven- 
tions. — -' Benjamin Franklin, the fifteenth of a family 
of seventeen children, was born in Boston in 1706. 
His father was a poor man, who could afford his 
youngest boy only about two years of schooling. 
When he was ten, the lad left school to assist his 
father at his trade of making soap and tallow 
candles. 

Nothing else pleased the boy so much as a book. 
He had access at this time to very few, and most of 
these were dull, but he read them eagerly. He read 
and re-read Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress until he 
knew it by heart. He disliked his father's trade and 
longed to do something more agreeable. He even 
thought of running away to sea as one of his brothers 
had done. 

252. Learns the Printer's Trade ; how he learned to write 
Good English. — Finally the boy was bound out as an 
apprentice to his older brother James, to learn the 
printer's trade. This was more to the boy's liking, 
for it orave him a better chance to read. For three 
years young Franklin worked hard to master the busi- 
ness. In a short time he could set type as well as 



298 ^/^^ Story of American History. 

any of the Boston printers. He went on errands to 
the bookstores, and, making friends with the clerks, 
he was often able to borrow books to read. He 
would carry them home, sit up most of the night 
reading, and return them on the next morning. 

In bis story of his own life, Franklin gives a most 
interesting account of his finding an odd volume of 
Addison's Spectator, and how charmed he was with 
the style. He would read one of Addison's essays 
with great care, close the book, and then write it out 
in his own words. This was carefully compared with 
the original, and corrected and re-corrected until he 
had improved upon his first effort. 

This and other similar exercises were lonsf con- 
tinned, and they gave the ambitious boy the com- 
mand of a singularly clear and interesting style. 

253. Writes for his Brother's Newspaper. — For three 
years the young printer worked steadily at his trade, 
without a moment of leisure except such as he took 
from his sleep or from his meals. He often sat up 
late and rose early, that he might have more time 
for study. 

His brother James, for whom he worked, so pros- 
pered in his business that he began to print in 1721 a 
weekly newspaper. It was young Benjamin's duty 
to set the type and strike off the edition of a few 



Benjamin Franklin. 299 

hundred papers, and then carry the little sheet to 
the houses of the subscribers. 

The boy read his brother's paper and soon had 
confidence enough in himself to write articles for it. 
He did not dare to let his brother know it, but 
slipped them under the door at night. They were 
printed and eagerly read for some time before their 
authorship was known. 

254. Goes to Philadelphia ; First Appearance in that City. 
— Young Franklin and his brother did not, however, 
get along well together. They quarreled, and the 
young printer at last sold some of his books and set 
sail for New York on a sloop. Unable to find work 
there, he was advised to go to Philadelphia. After 
many hardships and mishaps, he stepped ashore at 
the Quaker City one Sunday morning with one silver 
dollar and about a shilling in copper in his pocket. 

Franklin was at this time a sturdy youth of seven- 
teen. He was dressed in the peculiar fashion of the 
times. He wore knee breeches of buckskin, also a 
huge coat, the pockets of which bulged out with 
his spare shirts and stockings. He hastened to the 
first baker's shop and asked for threepenny worth of 
bread. The baker handed him three long rolls. He 
took one under each arm, and ate the third as he 
walked along the streets. 



300 



The Story of A merican History. 



A young girl happened to see him as he passed 
her father's house, and she laughed aloud at the 
young man's comical appearance. The girl's name 
was Deborah Read, and she afterwards became the 

wife of Franklin. 
Hungry and tired, 
he ate his rolls, then 
walked down to the 
river for a drink of 
water, and at last 
went into a Quaker 
meeting and soon fell 
sound asleep. 

A good Quaker 
helped Franklin to 
get work at his trade 
as a printer. The 
young man soon 
proved himself a 
prize to his em- 
ployer. He was 
strong, quick, frugal, of a studious mind, and, what was 
a rare virtue in those days, he never touched strong 
drink. Bright and sunny hours now came. He 
received good wages, saved his money, and made 
friends everywhere. 




Franklin's First Appearance in 
Philadelphia. 



Benjamin Franklin. 301 

255. Goes to London and works at his Trade. — One of 

these friends was the governor of Pennsylvania. He 
advised Frankhn to set up a printing office of his 
own. He urged him to go to London to buy a 
printing outfit, and promised him letters to people 
in England who, he said, would let him have all the 
money he needed. The young printer trusted too 
much to the pompous governor's promises and sailed 
for England, hoping to find the letters in the ves- 
sel's letter bag. But the governor had disappointed 
him ; no such letters were ever written. 

In due time Franklin found himself in the great 
city of London, where he did not know a single per- 
son. He at once showed what stuff he was made 
of. He quietly went to work at his trade and 
worked harder than ever. He kept up his studious 
habits, and spent all his spare time in reading good 
books. 

256. Returns to Philadelphia ; successful as a Printer and 
Publisher. — After a stay of a year and a half in Lon- 
don, Franklin returned to Philadelphia, and soon after 
set up in business for*himself as a printer. After a 
time he started a newspaper. He worked early and 
late, attending to every detail himself. He was not 
ashamed to carry material for his paper through the 
streets on a wheelbarrow. 



302 The Story of American History, 

Once he invited a rival in his business home to 
dine. Pointing to a loaf of bread from which they 
had eaten, he said, " Unless you can live cheaper 
than I, you cannot starve me out." 

When he was twenty-four the prosperous young 
printer married Deborah Read, the young woman 
who had laughed at him years before as he trudged 
through the streets with the rolls under his arms. 
Deborah proved herself a real helpmate, thrifty and 
industrious. Attached to the printing office was a 
little shop which the young wife tended. 

" Our table was plain and simple," says Franklin 
in his autobiography, " our furniture of the cheapest. 
For instance, our breakfast was for a long time bread 
and milk (no tea), and I ate it out of a twopenny 
earthen porringer, with a pewter spoon." In after 
years the thrifty couple indulged in some splendor, 
for in 1765 Mrs. Franklin, in a letter to her husband, 
alludes proudly to a papered room, horsehair chairs, 
a sideboard, and three carpets. 

257. His Happy, Useful, and Prosperous Career in Philadel- 
phia. — For twenty years Franklin lived a prosperous 
life as an active business man of the good Quaker city. 
He had become noted for his integrity, sagacity, and 
prosperity. His newspaper became known for its 
sparkling and timely editorials. The most intelligent 



Benjamin Franklin. 303 

and influential men of the city met in his office to 
discuss the questions of the day. 

The same year that Washington was born (1732) 
Franklin issued the first number of his Poor Richard's 
Almanac, which soon gained great fame for its wise 
and pithy sayings. The popularity which this little 
work maintained for twenty-five years was astonish- 
ing. Its shrewd and quaint maxims soon became 
household words in almost every shop and home of 
the land-. 

Even with his increasing prosperity Franklin found 
time every day to devote many hours to his books. 
He became proficient in French, Spanish, Italian, 
and even Latin. He gave much time to music, and 
played with skill upon the harp, the guitar, and the 
violin. 

This remarkable man now began to be at the head 
of many kinds of public and private enterprises, from 
treating with the Indians to plans for cleaning the 
streets. Honors, both public and private, were 
heaped upon him. He started a public library in 
Philadelphia, the first of its kind in America. 

He invented the famous " Franklin fireplace," 
which proved very popular and is even in use to-day. 
The most trivial events would often suggest to him 
something that would secure beneficial results. 



304 



The Story of Americaii History. 



The story is told that Franklin saw one day in a 

ditch the fragments of a basket of yellow willow, in 

which some foreign goods had been brought into the 

country. One of the twigs had sprouted. He 

\. planted it ; and it is said that it became the 

parent of all the yellow willows 

in our country. 

258. Franklin's Famous Kite Ex- 
periment. — Franklin was a great 
student of the sciences, espe- 
cially electricity. He wrote a 
pamphlet to prove that light- 
ning and electricity are the same 
thmg. The idea w^as sneered at, 
and people asked, " Of what use 
is it 1 " To which the genial 
philosopher replied, " What 
is the use of a child ? It 
may become a man ! " He 
hit on a plan to prove his 
theory. 

This was the famous kite 
experiment which he tried in 1752. He made a kite 
of silk, fastened a piece of wire to the stick, and went 
out with his son to fly it during a thunderstorm. 
At the lower end of the hempen string was fastened 




Franklin's Famous Kite 
Experiment. 



Benjafnin Fra^iklin. 305 

a key, and below that a cord of silk, which is a non- 
conductor. He held the silk cord in his hand, and 
when a low thunder cloud passed, he saw that the 
fibres of the string rose, separated, and stood on end, 
exactly as the hair does on one's head when one 
is charged with electricity as he stands on an in- 
sulating stool. 

When Franklin brought his knuckles near the key 
that he had tied to the string, sparks came from the 
metal, and he felt slight shocks. 

This discovery made a great sensation in the scien- 
tific world. Franklin at once became famous, took 
high rank as a man of science, and was afterwards 
known as " Doctor Franklin." He now invented the 
lightning rod, which has been in use ever since all 
over the civilized world. 

259. Entrance into a Broader Public Life. — From this 
time Franklin began to occupy more important 
positions in public life. In 1754 he was sent on a 
mission to Albany to enlist the chiefs of the power- 
ful " Six Nations " to become allies of the English. 
On this journey he drew up a plan for the union of 
the colonies. It was almost like that by which they 
were afterwards bound together as a nation. 

During the Braddock campaign Franklin in vain 
warned the haughty British general that " the Indians 



3o6 The Story of American History. 

would surprise, on its flanks, the slender line, nearly 
four miles long, which the army must make," and 
would " cut it like a thread into several pieces." 
From his own purse Franklin advanced for this ill- 
starred expedition between six and seven thousand 
silver dollars. 

The quarrels between the Pennsylvania Assembly 
and the Proprietors in England became so bitter 
that Franklin was sent to England in 1757 as the 
sole commissioner to make an appeal to the English 
government. He was cordially received abroad and 
highly honored by the most eminent scientific men 
of the time. He returned home after an absence of 
nearly six years. 

Franklin was now fifty-seven years old. He had 
an ample fortune, perfect health, and a superiority 
to most men in personal appearance and dignity. 
He hoped to withdraw from public life and give the 
rest of his days to the study of science. 

260. Franklin becomes a most Useful and Sagacious Helper 
to the Struggling Colonies. — Great and momentous events, 
however, were at hand. There was more important 
work for him to do. The struggling colonies, already 
taxed almost beyond endurance to carry on the war 
against the French and Indians, were allowed no 
representation nor voice in the matter of taxation. 



Benja m in Fra n klin . 



307 



Franklin, with patriotic foresight and with keen force 
of logic, resisted the outrage. He declared it to be 
the "mother of mischief." 

In 1764 Franklin was again sent by the Assembly 
to England, to present to the British court the pro- 
test of the people 
against " taxation 
without represen- 
tation." 

From this time 
Franklin served 
the colonies in 
England as a most 
accomplished di- 
plomatist, a vigor- 
ous writer, and a 
shrewd and saga- 
cious agent. He 
failed to stop the 
passage of the 
notorious Stamp 
Act, but he fought 
the measure so vigorously by his writings and discus- 
sions that he aroused bitter opposition to it among the 
industrial classes, so that Parliament was compelled at 
last to repeal the obnoxious measure. 




Franklin at the Court of France. 



3o8 The Story of American History, 

He was once brought before the House of ParHa- 
ment and sharply questioned. 

" Do you think," asked the prime minister, " the 
people of America would submit to pay the stamp 
duty if it was changed ? " 

" No, never," said Franklin ; " the American people 
will never submit to it." 

The colonists received with unbounded delight the 
tidings of Franklin's masterly diplomacy and the 
repeal of the Stamp Act. Bells were rung, bonfires 
blazed, and cannon were fired. " I never heard so 
much noise in my life," wrote Franklin's daughter 
Sallie to him ; " the very children seem distracted." 

Franklin now watched with honest shrewdness and 
a penetrating mind the many attempts of the British 
government to tax the Americans. Other colonies 
recognized his ability, and New Jersey, Georgia, and 
Massachusetts appointed him as their agent. 

At last, when all attempts to induce the govern- 
ment to change its oppressive policy had failed and 
war was sure to follow, Franklin sailed for home. 
He reached Philadelphia about sixteen days after the 
battle at Lexington and Concord. 

The morning after his arrival he was unanimously 
chosen a member of the Continental Congress, which 
was to meet in Philadelphia on the tenth of May. 



Benjamin Franklin. 309 

He now took a leading part in aiding his country- 
men in their war for Uberty. He was one of the five 
men, it will be remembered, chosen to draft the 
Declaration of Independence. 

261. His Remarkable Service Abroad as a Diplomatist. — 
Shortly afterwards Franklin was chosen a special 
ambassador to France. 

" I am old and good for nothing," said the philoso- 
pher ; " but, as the storekeepers say of their remnants 
of cloth, ' I am but a fag end, and you may have me 
for what you please.' " 

Two years afterwards, by his wisdom and his 
thorough knowledge of diplomacy, Franklin was 
chiefly instrumental in securing a treaty with France. 
By this memorable compact our independence was 
acknowledged, and we were recognized by France 
as one among the nations of the world. 

The news of the treaty was received in America 
with unbounded joy. General Washington drew up 
his little half-starved army at Valley Forge to an- 
nounce the event, and to offer prayers and thanks- 
giving to God. During the next three years Franklin 
rendered invaluable services in obtaining money, 
arms, and other means to aid his country in her 
life and death struggle with England. 

At last, when Great Britain gave up all hope of 



3 1 o The Story of A mericau History. 

subduing her American colonies, and was ready to 
make terms of peace, Franklin's diplomacy triumphed. 
Probably no other man in America could have guided 
the affair so wisely. 

262. Franklin's Last Days. — Franklin was now an 
old man of seventy-eight. He was so feeble that he 
could not w^alk, and could only ride in a litter. 
Thomas Jefferson was sent over to France in 1784 
as his successor. 

Upon his arrival the French prime minister said, 
" You replace Doctor Franklin, I understand." 

" No ! " replied Jefferson, " I succeed him. No man 
can replace him ! " 

The long sea voyage homew^ard proved very ben- 
eficial to the old philosopher's health. He was chosen 
a delegate to the convention that met in Philadelphia 
in 1787 to frame a new constitution. Although he 
was now eighty-one years of age, he was regularly in 
his seat, five hours a day, for four months. 

Three years later, at his home in Philadelphia, in 
1790, the "grand old man " died, at the age of eighty- 
four. The whole nation mourned his loss. No man 
of that period, except Washington, was held in higher 
esteem and veneration the world over than was Benja- 
min Franklin. 



CHAPTER XX. 

EVERYDAY LIFE ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 

263. Our Country One Hundred Years Ago. — Let us now 
take a hasty glance backward for a century and note 
the vast changes that have taken place in the matter 
of daily living during this time. Very different was 
the country in which our forefathers lived from that 
with which we are familiar. To be sure, there was 
a fringe of villages along the coast from Maine to 
Georgia. Fifty miles back from the Atlantic the coun- 
try was for the most part an unbroken wilderness. 

A few hundred settlers, and perhaps a hundred log 
cabins, made up a village where now stands the great 
city of Cincinnati. Indians and buffaloes roamed 
over the rich plains of the West which to-day furnish 
grain for Europe. Only seven of the states then had 
well-defined boundaries. Thousands of the marvel- 
ous inventions and discoveries which have added so 
much to the comfort and convenience of life had at 
that time no existence. 

264. Newspapers. — Forty- three newspapers managed 
to survive the war of the Revolution. Even the best 

3" 



312 The Story of A merican History. 

of these were mean-looking, and printed on poor 
paper. For the most part, they contained but four 
small pages, and were issued not oftener than two 
or three times a week. As to quantity of printed 
matter, they could not sustain comparison for one 
moment with the newspaper of our time. 

There was no such thing as an editorial page. All 
kinds of queer advertisements there were ; as, for run- 
away slaves or stolen horses : tedious letters appeared, 
written to the editor from distant points : treatises on 
geography and morals abounded instead of news. To 
fill out space, the editor would occasionally reprint 
some standard historical work or book of travels. 

That material which gives the modern newspaper 
its peculiar value and is now known under the general 
name of " news " was unknown. There were few or 
no facilities for gathering facts as to the happenings 
of events or the doings of individuals, communities, 
and nations ; and certainly no pains was taken to 
forward such material for publication. 

265. The Postal Service and Letter- Writing. — In the 
early colonial times there was no such thing as an 
official postal service. Up to the time of the Revo- 
lution there were certain means provided for carrying 
letters, but they were very meagre. 

The postmen used to travel some thirty to fifty 



Everyday Life One Hundred Years Ago. 313 



miles a day in good weather. Letters were sent from 
New York to Boston three times a week during sum- 
mer, and twice a week in winter. Six days and even 
more were required to make the journey. One pair 
of saddlebags easily 
contained all the 
mail. 

If such were the 
scanty mail accom- 
modations of the 
chief cities, we can 
imagine what they 
were in the small 
country towns. 
Sacks of letters and 
papers are now 
easily carried in one 
afternoon farther 
than they were then 
transported in five weeks. After the war, Washington 
had an extensive and important correspondence with 
the influential men of the country. In many of his 
replies he complained of the tedious delay in receiv- 
ing his mail. Well he might, for his letters were 
sometimes longer in going from Mount Vernon to 
Boston than they would now be in reaching China. 



^f 


HH' 




m 


i 






liPIl^' 1 




1 


% 


r 



A Discussion on a Fiinancial Question 
OF THE Times. 



314 ^^^^^ Story of American History, 

In remote sections the post-rider was often a 
decrepit man or some crippled soldier. One old 
postman used to improve his time, as his horse 
jogged slowly along, by knitting woolen mittens and 
stockings. There was no special protection to the 
service. Letters and packages were opened and 
freely read or examined by the carriers. So com- 
mon was this evil that the great men of this time 
used to correspond in cipher. 

We may be sure that when it cost much to send 
letters, and the difficulties of forwarding them were 
so many, the letter-writers of those days took special 
pains to write long epistles, full of news. People 
learned most of the news of the day from distant 
places, whether it pertained to politics, society, or 
gossip, through faithful correspondents. 

Imagine a busy merchant in one of our great cities 
writing a business letter, but giving most of the space 
to the results of the last election, or the doings of the 
state legislature. The telegraph, the telephone, ste- 
nography, and the typewriter of our day have revolu- 
tionized business communication and much of personal 
correspondence. 

266. The Stage Coaches. — During the war of the 
Revolution, stages stopped running between distant 
cities, and horseback traveling was resumed. When 



Everyday Life One Hundred Years Ago. 315 

peace was declared, the " coach and four " again took 
the road. Boston and New York were then the two 
great commercial centers of the country ; yet during 
Washington's first term two stages and twelve horses 
carried all the passengers by land between these two 
cities. 

The stage coach at this time was not much better 
than a huge covered box mounted on springs. There 
were no closed sides, glass windows, steps, or doors. 
It was not to be compared for one moment with the 
far-famed Concord coaches in after years. In summer 
an ordinary day's journey was forty miles, but in win- 
ter only about one-half of this distance. 

The stage started early each morning — often at 
three o'clock — and its daily time limit was about ten 
at night. Often the passengers were forced to get 
out and help lift it out of the mud or a deep rut. 
If there were no unusual accidents or mishaps, it 
reached New York, from Boston, at the end of the 
sixth day. Even at this snail pace the good people 
used to wonder at the ease, as well as the speed, 
with which the journey was made. 

It is no wonder, then, that a journey to any remote 
place became a serious matter. Prudent men, when 
ready to set out for a distant point, arranged their 
business affairs for any emergency, made their wills, 



2, 1 6 The Story of American History. 

and, after a formal dinner at the tavern, bade their 
family and neighbors a solemn farewell. 

267. How Fires were put out. — The law at this time 
compelled every man to take an active part in put- 
ting out fires. He was obliged to keep at least four 
leathern buckets hung up at some convenient place 
in his house or shop, with his name painted on them, 
together with a big canvas bag. When an alarm of 
fire was raised, either by vigorous shouts of " Fire ! 
fire ! " or the ringing of the church bell, the good 
citizen seized his fire buckets and his canvas bag, 
and, guided by the smoke or flame, started for the 
scene of action. 

There were no idlers at an old-time fire. Some 
rushed into the building with their canvas bags and 
filled them with such movable goods as could be 
readily carried in them. A double line extending to 
the water was formed of men, boys, and even women. 
One line passed the full buckets to those who were 
nearest the fire, while the other line returned the 
empty vessels to the well or river. 

Some of the larger towns boasted of a " fire engine." 
This was merely a pump mounted over a tank, which 
the men kept full by pouring in water from the 
buckets. The rich householder was allow^ed to send 
his slave or servant to the fire with the fire buckets. 



Everyday Life One Hundred Years Ago. 317 

When the fire was out, the buckets were left in the 
road, to be picked up and carried home by their 
owners. Persons who neglected to keep their hre 
buckets in good order and in their proper places, or 
who failed to carry them home after the fire, were 
fined. 

268. How Sunday was passed. — The observance of 
Sunday began at sundown on Saturday. The early 
part of the evening was devoted to family worship, 
and shortly after eight o'clock all were in bed. No 
w^ork except such as was really necessary was done 
on Sunday. Most of the cooking was done the day 
before. Each member of the family, unless sick in 
bed, went to church. The farmer traveled on horse- 
back with his wife on the pillion behind. 

The singers sat in the front gallery. The boys and 
young men had seats in the left-hand gallery, while 
that on the right was occupied by the young women. 
We have read in a previous chapter something about 
the tithing-man and his duties. The short noon inter- 
val was devoted to eating a cold lunch. 

No meeting-house in those days was warmed. Old 
and feeble women were allowed to use tin foot-stoves, 
filled with a few hot coals. In the bitter cold months 
of a New England winter it was no trifling affair to en- 
dure the actual suffering that accompanied religious 



3i8 The Story of American History, 

worship on Sunday. The story is told of a good min- 
ister in Connecticut who in the depths of winter 
prudently preached in overcoat and mittens, but com- 
plained that his voice was drowned by persons stamp- 
ing and knocking their feet together to keep warm. 

269. The Minister and the Meeting-Houses. — The min- 
ister was always held in high esteem. He was usually 
the most important man of the village, and was 
looked upon with reverence not unmingled with awe. 
His authority was almost supreme. If a person 
spoke disrespectfully of him, or even laughed at his 
oddities, the offender was heavily fined. The advice 
of the minister was often asked, and sometimes given 
unasked, on matters of business as well as of religion. 
Fearless and resolute in what they believed to be 
right, the influence of the ministers of that time in 
public affairs was deservedly very great. 

The minister's salary was but a pittance. It was 
never the same two years in succession, and was 
rarely paid in cash. Donations of corn, beans, tur- 
nips, and other farm products were usually given in 
place of hard money. 

The sermon was the one event of the week. Every 
well person in the village turned out to hear it. Copi- 
ous notes were taken, and its various points furnished 
topics for fireside discussion during the week. 



Everyday Life One Hundred Years A^ 



LW. 



319 



270. How the Doctors healed the Sick. — The village 
doctor, together with the minister and schoolmaster, 
held a high social rank. There were only two medi- 
cal colleges in the country, and these were not well 




A Village Magnate riding in the Old-Time Chaise. 

attended. Medical books were scarce and costly. 
Even the best doctors could not boast of a medical 
library of fifty volumes. 

The future doctor served his time as a student with 
some well-known physician. He ground the powders, 
mixed the potions, rolled the pills, cleaned the bottles, 
tended the night bell, and otherwise made himself 
useful. If the young student had a good preceptor 



320 The Story of America7i History. 

and was gifted with a keen observation and a reten- 
tive memory, he returned to his native town or went 
elsewhere fairly prepared to begin practice. 

There were no drug stores in those days, and each 
doctor was his own apothecary. He ground his own 
drugs, made his own tinctures, salves, and plasters. 
Most of the medical preparations used then would 
not be tolerated to-day. 

Then as now the country doctor used to ride night 
and day, year after year, whatever the weather or the 
condition of the roads, to attend the good people of 
his neighborhood. He received, as he richly deserved, 
the respect and affection of his patients for his life of 
hardship and self-denial. 

271. How the Schoolmaster taught School. — Besides the 
doctor, minister, and lawyer, the village schoolmaster 
was socially and otherwise an important man. He 
was usually a student who was " working his way " 
through college, and w^ho sought, by teaching winters 
and working on a farm in summer, to defray his 
expenses at Yale, Dartmouth, or Harvard. 

In many of the school districts he was expected to 
" board round." That is, he lived with the parents 
of his pupils, regulating his stay according to the 
number of the children of the family who attended 
school. 



Everyday Life One Hundred Years Ago, 321 

In those days there were large families and many 
children, and the young schoolmaster was a welcome 
guest. The best room in the house, the warmest 
corner by the fireplace, and the choicest food were 




An Old Soldier fighting his Battles over again. 



reserved for him. During the long winter evenings 
he discussed theology and politics with the fathers, 
played games with the children, and escorted the girls 
to " spelling matches " and " quilting bees." 



32 2 The Story of American History. 

272. The Everyday Home Life. — Such conveniences 
and comforts as are now found in almost every home" 
were then unknown. Cooking stoves, matches, refined 
sugar, sewing machines, and kerosene oil had never 
been heard of. The mechanic's home had no carpets 
on the floor, no pictures on the walls, no coal in the 
cellar, no water faucets in the kitchen. Fruits and 
vegetables, now so cheap in their season, such as toma- 
toes, oranges, bananas, celery, and dates, were either 
quite unknown or beyond the reach of scanty means. 

The farmers of a century ago ate plain food and 
wore plain clothes. Their daily fare was usually salt 
fish, salt pork, beef, a few vegetables, and dried apples. 
The numerous farm implements, which have done so 
much to cheapen food and to bring thousands of acres 
into a state of high cultivation, were not yet invented. 

The well-to-do farmer managed to pick up a great 
deal of general information and news of the day. He 
was noted for an inquiring turn of mind. He could 
tire out the weary visitor or stranger on the road with 
numberless questions on current social, political, or 
religious topics. At times he would unbend enough 
to play ''fox and geese " with his children, or attend 
" apple bees " and corn huskings. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

WHAT OUR NAVY DID IN THE WAR OF 1812. 

273. Outrages committed by the Pirates of the Barbary 
Coast. — A hundred years ago the ports of the nations 
lying on the northern coast of Africa — the Barbary 
States, as they were called, Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, 
and Tripoli — were infested by fierce pirates. They 
used to rush out with their swift vessels and capture 
the ships of Christian nations. After plundering 
them of their valuables, they would hold the crews 
as slaves, or sell them to slave dealers. 

These pirates became for years the terror of 
Europe. Merchants paid annual tributes of large 
sums of money to the Pasha to save their cargoes 
from seizure. Even our own nation, in 1795, paid 
these sea robbers for the release of American sailors 
captured and held by them as slaves, and also for the 
exemption of our ships from attack. First and last 
we paid these robber states not less than a million 
dollars to buy their good will. 

It is difficult to realize that there was once a time 
when the President of the United States negotiated 

323 



324 The Story of Afnerican History. 

treaties, the Senate ratified them, and Congress voted 
tribute money to keep the peace with pirates. 

In 1 801 a disagreement arose about our regular 
payment; and the Bashaw of TripoH, whose greed 
it was hard to satisfy, had the impudence to declare 
war against the United States and cut down the 
flagstaff in front of our consul's residence. 

274. The Gallant Exploits of Decatur and his Brave Men. 
— Although we had only a small navy. President 
Jefferson thought it best to put a stop to this black- 
mail business, and settle with the pirates in a differ- 
ent way. So he sent some war vessels to punish 
them, and they did it quite thoroughly. 

During one of these encounters the United States 
frigate Philadelphia, one of our best, under the com- 
mand of Captain Bainbridge, chased a pirate craft 
into the harbor of Tripoli, but unluckily ran on a 
reef. She stuck fast, helpless either to fight or to 
sail. She was captured, with all her crew, by the 
enemy. 

But a few months afterwards, Stephen Decatur, 
a gallant lieutenant of only twenty-five, sailed from 
Sicily in a small vessel, the Intrepid, which had just 
been captured from the Moors. He boldly entered 
the harbor of Tripoli one evening about dusk, and 
sailed quietly along close to the Philadelphia. The 



What our Navy did in the War of 1812. 325 

pirates did not suspect harm, as the Intrepid appeared 
to be a Moorish vessel. With its crew of seventy 
men concealed under the bulwarks, the little vessel 
was instantly made fast to the ill-fated frigate. 

" Follow me, lads ! " cried Decatur. 

The men from the Intrepid sprang to their feet 
and climbed on board the Philadelphia. The sur- 
prise was complete. In ten minutes Decatur and 
his bold sailors had killed or driven overboard every 
pirate, then set the ship afire, leaped back upon the 
Intrepid, and escaped from the harbor amid a storm 
of shot from the batteries. Not one of our men was 
lost in the whole affair. 

This heroic adventure, which made young Decatur 
a captain, became common talk in Europe. Eng- 
land's greatest naval hero. Lord Nelson, said, " It 
was the most bold and daring act of the ages." 
There is no single naval exploit to be compared 
with it for boldness, except Cushing's destruction of 
the ironclad Albemarle in the war for the Union. 

275. Outrageous Conduct of the British toward American 
Sailors. — During the years soon after 1800, Napoleon 
Bonaparte was at war with almost all Europe, and 
especially with England. 

The British navy was very large and in constant 
need of sailors. To get them, English men-of-war 



326 The Story of American History. 

used to stop American merchant ships wherever they 
met them on the high seas. They would fire a cannon 
shot across the bows of the American vessel to 
compel it to heave to. British officers would then 
come on board, marshal the crew in line, and pick 
out sailors whom they claimed to be deserters from 
British ships. 

Very likely the ones thus singled out could prove 
that they were Americans by birth or adoption. No 
matter for that! they were needed, and, as the men- 
of-war had the power to take them by force, go they 
must. In time this dastardly business became even 
worse. The British sometimes stationed their war 
vessels off the entrance of our largest harbors, ready 
to search our merchantmen as they sailed out. 

Now all this bid fair to destroy our commerce. 
None of our ships were safe. Importing, exporting, 
our vast fisheries, important manufactures — many 
kinds of business — were on the verge of ruin. 

In spite of our protests the British government 
kept up this practice for years, until it was said that 
more than nine hundred American vessels had been 
searched, and over six thousand American sailors 
kidnapped from them. 

276. The War of 1812 begun. — Why did we endure 
these insults from England so long } Perhaps the 



What our Navy did in the War of 1812. 327 



principal reason was our small navy. The English 
war fleets then numbered over a thousand vessels, 
and ours less than twenty ! These outrages could 
not, however, be longer tolerated. England even 
insisted that she had a perfect rigJit to seize our 
ships and to carry off our citizens. 

War was declared in 181 2. In this war most of our 
land battles were more or less failures, but the brilliant 
success of our naval contests more than made up for 
them. In fact, whenever 



we speak of the war of 
181 2, we always think of 
the surprising series of vic- 
tories won by our splendid 
though small naval force 
against England. 

277. The Great Naval Bat- 
tle between the Constitution 
and the Guerri^re. — Only a 
few weeks after war was 
declared, our frigate Con- 
stitution, Captain Isaac Hull, met the enemy's man-of- 
war Guerriere, Captain Dacres, off the Massachusetts 
shore. The British vessel had been sailing proudly up 
and down our coast, challenging the Yankee craft to 
fight. The Guerriere in real British pride flings out 




Isaac Hull. 



328 The Story of American History. 

a flag from the top of each "ocean spire." Her guns 
flash but the balls fall short. 

" Not a cannon to be fired till I give the word," 
cried Captain Hull; "double shot the guns." 

" May we not begin } " shouted his first officer as 
the shot came tearing through the rigging. 

Another broadside from the Guerriere ! The men 
are getting impatient. Captain Hull calmly waits 
until he can bring every gun to bear. 

" Now, boys, give it to them ! " he shouted at the 
top of his voice. 

They did their work well. In twenty minutes the 
proud English frigate was a helpless wreck. 

" I will not take your sword," said the gallant Hull 
to Captain Dacres as the British officer surrendered ; 
" but I will trouble you for that hat ! " 

It seems that these two brave captains were personal 
friends, and Hull had made a bet with Dacres that his 
vessel would " whip " the Guerriere if there should ever 
be a war, and the loser was to forfeit his hat ! 

The Constitution was almost unhurt. The Guer- 
riere, shattered and useless, was set on fire, and in a 
few minutes blew up. All that was left of the splen- 
did vessel instantly vanished from sight forever. Hull 
took his prisoners to Boston, where he was received 
with enthusiastic welcome. 



What our Navy did in the War of 1812. 329 



The news of this victory created equal joy in every 
section of the country. Its chief importance lay in 
the confidence it inspired among all the people, 
demonstrating that a first-class 
English battle-ship was far from 
invincible. The British government 
was astounded. 
S o were the 
naval authorities, 
some of whom 
had sneered at 
the Constitution 
as "a bundle of 
pine boards." 

278. Naval Bat- 
tle between the 
Wasp and Frolic ; 
Other Brilliant Na- 
val Victories for the 
American Sailors. 
— A few weeks 
later the Ameri- 
can sloop-of-war 
Wasp fell in with the British brig Frolic off Virginia. 
It was a sharp fight for three-quarters of an hour. 
Both vessels were nearly destroyed, when the Wasp 




Captain Hull refuses to accept Captain 
Dacres' Sword. 



330 The Story of American History. 

came close to the Frolic and gave a tremendous broad- 
side that carried away everything before it. Then the 
Wasp's crew boarded the Frolic and found not a 
sailor on deck — only the officers, who surrendered. 
The surviving sailors had gone below to escape the 
deadly fire. 

The very next week Commodore Decatur of the 
frio^ate United States attacked the British friofate 
Macedonian near the Canary Islands. It was a brisk 
fight of two hours, when the Macedonian surrendered 
with a loss of over one hundred men. 

Decatur's victory produced a profound impression 
both in this country and in England. Congress recog- 
nized its importance by a vote of thanks and a gold 
medal to the commodore. 

279. << Old Ironsides " and her Noble Record. — In the same 
month occurred the famous battle off Brazil between 
the Constitution under Commodore Bainbridge and 
the frigate Java. It was a furious contest for " two 
hours. The enemy's ship had every mast shot away, 
and her hull was torn with shot. Her deck was 
covered with more than two hundred killed and 
wounded. The wreck of the Java surrendered, the 
survivors were taken on board the Constitution, and 
the hull was burned. This was the fourth brilliant 
naval victory gained within six months. 



What otir Navy did in the War of 1812. 331 

The Constitution has ever since been popularly- 
known as " Old Ironsides," by which name her ex- 
ploits have been celebrated from that day until this in 
oratory and song. Many years ago the government 
planned to break her up and sell her timbers. This 
prompted Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes to write his 
famous poem beginning : — 

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down ! 
Long has it waved on high. 

These stirring lines had a powerful influence upon 
the public mind, and the noble vessel was saved. 
She may be seen now (1900), carefully protected, in 
the navy yard at Charlestown, Mass. 

Slowly but surely the idea dawned upon many 
minds in Europe that a nation was springing up 
on the other side of the Atlantic that would some- 
time dispute with England, the " mistress of the 
seas," the supremacy of the ocean. 

280. Battle between the Chesapeake and Shannon. — 
The year 181 3 opened with hopeful prospects, but 
the scale turned less in our favor than during 18 12. 
A brilliant young officer. Captain James Lawrence, 
was given in reward for his bravery the command 
of the Chesapeake, then lying in Boston Harbor. She 
was one of the finest frigates in our young navy, 



332 



The Story of American History. 



/l<(V<VliVi , 



but had the name among the sailors of being an 
"unlucky" craft. 

Lawrence had hardly taken charge of his new ship 
when he received a challenge from the British frigate 
Shannon, cruising outside, daring him to come out 
and fight. He hastily made ready for. sea, collected 

such a crew as he could, part 
landsmen and part foreign- 
ers, and sailed out. This was 
really very unwise. 

The Shannon's crew were 
picked men, and had had 
lonor and careful drill, while 
Lawrence's men were fresh 
and unprepared. Lawrence 
was young, proud of his late 
victory, and full of courage. 
The hostile ships fought fiercely and with terrible 
effect. In a few minutes every one of the Chesa- 
peake's officers was either killed or wounded. 

While Lawrence was giving an order, a musket 
ball inflicted upon him a fatal wound. As he was 
carried below, his dying words were, 

" Don't give up the Ship ! " 
— a stirring battle-cry, which has ever since been a 
source of inspiration to our navy. 




James Lawrence. 



What our Navy did in the War of 1812. 333 

The battle was soon over. The torn rieeine of 
the Chesapeake was entangled with that of the 
Shannon, the enemy's officers leaped on board and 
raised the British flag. The Chesapeake was taken 
to Halifax, where Lawrence was buried with military 
honors. 

281. Commodore Perry and his Brilliant Victory on Lake 
Erie. — The story of Perry's brilliant victory on Lake 
Erie has been told in prose and verse ever since 
it took place. The control of this inland sea between 
two hostile countries was very important. The British 
already had a little fleet of six vessels with sixty-three 
guns, to oppose which we had hardly anything in the 
shape of vessels or trained men. 

A naval officer, Oliver Hazard Perry of Rhode 
Island, not quite twenty-eight years old and who 
had never been in action before, w^as appointed to 
take charge of the whole matter in behalf of the 
United States. First, he must have an armed flo- 
tilla to meet the enemy. 

With remarkable energy the young captain put a 
large force of wood-choppers and ship carpenters at 
work for months near Erie, Pa., felling huge trees 
and building war vessels of the green timber. Soon 
he had launched nine, with fifty-four cannon — more 
vessels than the enemy, but fewer guns. 



334 ^/^^ Story of American History, 

One beautiful September morning the British fleet 
was seen on the horizon. 

" Sail ho ! " rang out from the masthead of the 
American flagship. 

" Enemy in sight ! " " Get under way ! " was the 
signal sent to each vessel. 

Perry stripped his flagship, the Lawrence, for 
action. At her masthead he raised a blue battle- 
flag, upon which had been painted in large white 
letters the dying words of the brave Lawrence, 
" Don't give up the ship." 

" My brave lads," said Perry, " this flag has on it 
the dying words of Captain Lawrence. Shall I 
hoist it } " 

" Aye, aye, sir," shouted every man, and cheer after 
cheer echoed and reechoed through the fleet. This 
was the signal for battle. 

The enemy's fire was directed mostly upon Perry's 
vessel, which fought the two largest British ships till 
the Lawrence was almost a helpless wreck — cannon 
dismounted, masts shot away, and most of the crew 
either killed or wounded. 

Should Perry surrender } Not he ! 

Taking his motto banner, he sprang into his only 
open boat, with his little brother and four stout sailors, 
and standing erect with his battle-flag half folded 



What our Navy did in the War of 1812. 335 

about him, balls flying all around him, he was rowed 
through the thickest of the fight to another of his 
ships, the Niagara, half a mile distant. 

A mighty shout went up from all our fleet at the 
sight of this heroic deed. 

'^ Fire upon that boat," 
ordered the British com- 
mander. 

The enemy at once 
poured a hail of cannon- 
balls, grapeshot, and mus- 
ket bullets around the 
men in the open boat. 
Strange to say, not a per- 
son was hurt. Perry 

Oliver Hazard Perry. 

sprang on board of the 

Niagara, took command, sailed his vessels into the 
enemy's line, and thundered a series of broadsides 
right and left into five of their best ships. 

In fifteen minutes from this moment the work was 
over ! For the first time in history an American 
fleet had met a British fleet in a fair fight — and 
captured it ! 

The battle had lasted three hours. The victory was 
complete. Then with singular pride Perry' returned 
to the shattered Lawrence and there received the 




336 The Story of American History. 

enemy's surrender ! When he was sure of victory, he 
wrote in pencil on the back of an old letter, resting the 
paper on his cap, and sent to General Harrison (after- 
wards President in 1841) that remarkable despatch, 
the first sentence of which has been so often repeated : 

" We have met the enemy and thev are ours ! " 

This victory, so astonishing for its daring act of 
valor, turned the scales of war. It saved the west- 
ern states from further inroads by the British, and 
paved the way for General Harrison to recover what 
was lost in General Hull's surrender of Detroit. 

282. Other Events of this War. — The next year, 18 14, 
which saw the end of the war, was marked by events 
few but important. In the summer the British with 
their vast fleet blockaded all our most important ports, 
and sailing up rivers and into unprotected harbors, 
they plundered without mercy the defenseless cities 
and towns. 

In August one of their fleet sailed up to Wash- 
ington, the city being entirely unguarded. President 
Madison, the officers of the government, and many 
citizens fled, and General Ross marched unopposed 
into the city. Obeying instructions from his govern- 
ment, he burned the Capitol, the President's house, 
the Treasury, and other public buildings, with vast 



What our Navy did hi the War of 1812. 337 

amounts of valuable books and records. This shame- 
ful act has always received the sharpest condemna- 
tion from the civilized world. 

Next the British army marched to Baltimore, where 
the fleet bombarded Fort Mc Henry all day and all 
night, but without avail. The next morning Francis 
Scott Key, then a prisoner on a British ship, seeing 
the flag still flying over the fort, hastily wrote in pen- 
cil, on the back of an old letter, the stirring song that 
we all know so well, " The Star-Spangled Banner." 

The British General Ross was killed, and his army 
hastened to the ships and sailed away. 

In September the English, with an army of fourteen 
thousand veterans, tried to force a way from Canada 
to New York through Lake Champlain. Their army 
marched from Quebec, while the fleet sailed down the 
lake, and both were at Plattsburg together. But our 
gallant flotilla under Commodore McDonough utterly 
destroyed the British squadron, far superior to ours. 

283. How General Jackson defeated the British at New- 
Orleans. — Later in the year the British made a vigor- 
ous effort to capture New Orleans. More than ten 
thousand trained veterans, believed to be the finest 
troops in the world, were met by less than half that 
number of men under Andrew Jackson, afterwards 
President. The battle was short but decisive. 



338 The Story of American History. 

The British general repeated the fatal error of 
Bunker Hill in marching his soldiers to attack men 
who were behind breastworks, and who knew how to 
hit every time they fired. Jackson's wall of cotton 
bales was assaulted time and again, but the red-coat 
lines broke and ran before the withering fire of the 
backwoods rifles. The sharpshooters of the South- 
west had worsted British veterans who had defeated 
the best soldiers of Napoleon. 

In less than an hour the enemy's leader, General 
Packenham, was killed, seven hundred of his men lay 
dead on the field, and the contest was over. The 
British lost over two thousand in all, the Americans 
only thirteen ! Never had a British army met a more 
decisive defeat. 

This battle, fought on the eighth of January, 
181 5, was really needless ; for peace had been made 
in Europe about two weeks before. 

284. Results of the War. — The war of 181 2 was not 
fought in vain. It put an end at once to searching 
American vessels and kidnapping American sailors on 
the high seas. Foreign nations saw that we were 
determined to maintain our rights on the ocean, and 
have never thought it best since then to insult our 
country. This war also served to strengthen the 
American feeling of nationality. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 

285. The Great Rush Westward. — Shortly after the 
close of the Revolution, long processions of emigrant 
wagons, with their white canvas covers and their com- 
panies of hardy men and women, began to move west- 
ward on all the main roads through New England, 
over the highways of New York toward the lakes, 
over the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, and 
through the valley of the Ohio. 

Thousands of thrifty settlers followed just behind 
the pioneers and cleared the forests, bridged the 
streams, built villages, and tilled the rich valleys. 
Thousands left their homes in the Carolinas and 
went over the mountains to settle on the rich lands 
of Kentucky and Tennessee. 

The hardships which these early settlers endured 
are beyond description. It was one long hard struggle 
for food, shelter, and life itself. This was only the 
beginning of that mighty stream of migration which 
flowed for the next half century or more beyond the 
Mississippi, beyond the Rocky Mountains, into the 

339 



340 The Story of America n His lory. 

region of the extreme Northwest and to the shores 
of the Pacific. 

The story of the marvelous growth of our country 
beyond the Alleghanies during the last hundred years 
reads more like a fairy tale than the plain truth. 

286. Discovery of the Columbia River. — In 1792 Cap- 
tain Robert Gray of Boston, in the ship Columbia, was 
coasting along the Pacific shores, trading with the 
Indians for furs, when he discovered a broad and deep 
stream, which he entered and sailed up for many 
miles, and named after his vessel. The discovery of 
this great river produced momentous and far-reaching 
results. 

287. The Purchase of Louisiana by President Jefferson. 
— Now comes another important event. Our pio- 
neers, who wanted to push on still farther, could not 
consistently cross the Mississippi River to stay there ; 
for all that country belonged to France. This entire 
region of over a million square miles was then called 
Louisiana. 

Our people were very anxious to obtain part of this 
land, because it included New Orleans. The posses- 
sion of it seemed necessary for our growing commerce 
and for our future protection. Thomas Jefferson, 
then President (1803), ^vas on the point of attempting 
to buy of France enough of this southern region to 



The Settlement of the Pacific Coast. 34 1 

include the mouth of the river, when he learned to 
his surprise that the French would be glad to sell 
us the whole of that vast territory ! 

Napoleon was just then planning military opera- 
tions on a great scale against England, and he was in 
sore need of " the sinews of war " ; so he was glad to 
sell to this country this immense area for fifteen 
million dollars. 

The addition of the Louisiana territory more than 
doubled the area of the United States. 

288. The Wonders revealed by the Lewis and Clarke Ex- 
ploring Expedition. — The next year President Jefferson 
thought it best to learn all about this wonderful addi- 
tion to our territory, and so sent an expedition, under 
Captains Lewis and Clarke, to explore it. They started 
from St. Louis in May, 1804. What a remarkable 
journey it was ! — more than two thousand miles 
up the Missouri River to its source, then across the 
Rocky Mountains, next down the Columbia River to 
the Pacific. They were the first white men who ever 
explored this vast domain, having traveled about six 
thousand miles. 

On their return in September, 1806, they were wel- 
comed with unbounded joy. The stories of their 
perilous adventures sounded like a fairy romance, 
and the book of their travels was read every- 



342 The Story of A^nerican History. 

where. The explorers brought back word that the 
Indians had immense quantities of valuable furs. Soon 
throngs of American hunters and trappers began to 
roam over the vast plains and through the forests. 

All the way from the Missouri River to the Pacific 
a chain of trading posts, and stores for exchanging 
goods for furs were established. The wagons of the 
fur-traders and the winding caravans of emigrants 
that went under their protection soon made a pretty 
fair road. This was known as the Oregon trail, and 
in time it became the principal northern highway 
for Pacific travel. 

289. How Dr. Whitman saved Oregon to the Union. — In 
1836 a group of young missionaries, two of them with 
their brides, went from New England to Oregon, tak- 
ing with them a wagon all the way from the Missouri 
to their new homes on the Columbia River. One 
of these was a doctor by the name of Marcus Whit- 
man, whose labors and counsel became of great value 
to the company. 

After they had been settled in Oregon some years 
Dr. Whitman discovered, one day in October, 1842, 
that the British were sending large bands of settlers 
down into Oregon, apparently to crowd American 
emigrants out of that rich country and to take com- 
plete possession. 



The Settlement of the Pacific Coast. 343 

"The country is ours! The United States is too 
late. England will have Oregon and you cannot help 
it," exclaimed an English subject to him. 

" I will see," was the doctor's quiet reply. 

The moment Dr. Whitman heard this he became 
alarmed at the danger. If the President at Wash- 
ington could only be informed of the facts, the 
threatened loss might be averted. The National 
Capital was three thousand or more miles away ; 
and yet to delay a year or two might mean the 
seizure of all this rich country by the British. 

How to inform the government at Washington was 
the question. Could he himself do anything to save 
to his country this immense and valuable region .^ — 
one man, in midwinter, and across a continent } The 
problem haunted him — "Must I go .^ " He could 
not sleep. Difficult, almost impossible, as would be 
the journey, yet he heard the clear call of duty. 

A firm and bold resolve, quick as a flash, had 
taken hold of him. He rode home in haste. 

" I am going to Washington to lay bare this 
scheme," said he to his wife. " I will bring settlers 
to Oregon." 

" You cannot ever get there," exclaimed the young 
wife; "you will perish on the way." 

" I must 2:0: Oreo:on must be saved," said Whitman. 



344 



The Story of American History. 



■^^t 



290. Whitman begins his Perilous Journey. — Twenty- 
four hours later Dr. Whitman, with one companion, 
and pack mules for the guide and their supplies, 
started on horseback on the perilous undertaking. 

Over mountain ranges, through deep gorges and 
rugged forests, now 
drenched in storms, 
now buried in snow, 
and half famishing for 
food — their sufferings 
cannot be described. 

They fed their 
horses on cotton-wood 
bark, while the men 
themselves lived on 
mule and dog meat. 
Two or three times 
they were really lost 
in the blinding snow- 
storms, and wandered 
about bewildered for 
days. Once only, Whitman gave up in despair, 
and then, worn out and bewildered, he knelt in 
the deep snow, and in a final prayer surrendered to 
God all earthly hopes. Then the party sank down 
and awaited a snowy burial. They were not, how- 




Whitman's Famous " Ride for 
Oregon." 



The Settlement of the Pacific Coast. 345 

ever, to die in the wilderness, but were rescued from 
death almost as if by a miracle, and after untold hard- 
ships for three months they reached St. Louis. 

291. Dr. Whitman succeeds in his Grand Mission. — 
Dr. Whitman at last arrived in Washington and 
convinced President Tyler and Daniel Webster, his 
Secretary of State, of the great value of Oregon and 
its importance to the Union. It is claimed that he 
thus saved to our nation, by his famous " ride for 
Oregon," that entire region of country now known 
as Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, an area thirty- 
two times as large as the state of Massachusetts. 

This heroic patriot afterwards went through the 
Eastern States and told the people of the wonders 
of the Pacific coast. He stirred up such an interest 
that when, in the following June, he started back 
for Oregon he had the satisfaction of leading a 
caravan of two hundred wagons, with nearly a thou- 
sand people. After that, emigrants thronged every 
year in larger and larger numbers, till the territory 
was soon beyond the danger of British invasion. 

The dispute as to which nation had a right to 
Oregon was at last settled in 1846 by a treaty between 
the United States and England. By this treaty the 
boundary line was fixed, and our rightful claim to the 
vast Oregon country was confirmed for all time. 



346 The Story of American History. 

292. California becomes One of the United States. — Dur- 
ing all these years, while so many eyes were turned 
towards Oregon, few thought much of California, for 
it then belonged to Mexico. The coast trade in 
hides and furs and the inland immigration from the 
United States had slowly changed the kind of popu- 
lation. Although it w^as still Mexican by name, yet 
by 1846, besides the Spanish, Mexicans, and Indians, 
there were about ten thousand other inhabitants, 
mostly American citizens. In that year w^ar was 
declared between the United States and Mexico. 
Then the large body of Americans in California 
thought they had a right to declare their inde- 
pendence of Mexico. 

At just this time John C. Fremont, an army officer 
and a famous western mountain explorer, was fortu- 
nately on the great plains, and was sent with an 
army expedition to explore a new route to Oregon. 
Being informed by special messenger of the war 
with Mexico, he changed his course and went to 
California. When he arrived there his small but 
courageous band, increased in number by patriotic 
residents and acting in harmony wdth our fleet, soon 
secured the independence of this great state. 

293. The Discovery of Gold in California. — It appears 
fortunate and even providential that California came 



TJie Settlement of the Pacific Coast. 347 

into our hands just when it did, for shortly afterwards 
a most remarkable event occurred. Captain Sutter, 
an early emigrant, had settled on the Sacramento 
River and built a sawmill. 

In January, 1848, one of Sutter's laborers, by the 
name of Marshall, while digging a ditch for the mill, 
found shiny pieces of yellow metal which they sus- 
pected might be gold. 

" I wonder what that yellow stuff is," said he. 
" I wonder if it is gold." 

" I reckon it is brass," said one of his helpers. 

" Let me try vinegar on it," said Marshall. It was 
tried and the vinegar did not affect the " yellow stuff." 

The men about the sawmill threw down their tools 
and went to work searching for gold. Mr. Sutter 
laughed at the idea. But gold indeed it was, and 
there was plenty of it ! 

294. The Effect of this Great Discovery. — The news 
spread. Soon everybody about knew that pure gold 
was found and in wonderful quantities. What a 
rush there was to the " diggings " ! How all sorts 
of people from all over the western coast crowded in ! 
Doctors left their sick, ministers their pulpits, traders 
their shops, mechanics their tools, and farmers their 
fields, all half frantic with the desire to dig their for- 
tunes out of the golden sands of California. 



348 The Story of American History. 

When the news of the discovery of gold reached 
the East, many people seemed to catch the contagion. 
Multitudes started at once for California. Thousands 
came by long wagon trains over the dreary plains. 
Hundreds died of starvation or were killed by Indians. 
Thousands went by the Isthmus, other thousands by 
Cape Horn. Vast numbers came from foreign coun- 
tries. Even the crews and often the officers aban- 
doned the ships that brought crowds to the Pacific 
coast and started for the gold " diggings." 

295. The Mad Rush to the Gold Regions. — The rush to 
the gold fields began in 1848, but became enormous 
in 1849. Those who went that year are since called 
" Forty-niners." There were over eighty thousand of 
them ! The crowds that thronged the gold regions 
dug up the country for miles around Sutter's mill. 
They tore up his beautiful valley and ruined his farm. 
But they soon learned that gold was also to be found 
in larger quantities along the streams, among the 
mountains, and in valleys. 

Month by month new-corners swarmed in, and the 
excitement grew more intense. Some found prizes, 
nuggets of solid gold as large as an acorn or a wal- 
nut, and at times masses two or three pounds in 
weight. However much gold a man found, he was 
wildly eager to get more. 



The Settlement of the Pacific Coast. 349 

A great deal of suffering ensued from the scarcity 
of food and the enormous prices of everything need- 
ful Potatoes sold for a dollar apiece, eggs at the 
same price, wood at fifty dollars a cord, and flour 
at a hundred dollars a barrel. Large butcher knives 
were found very useful for digging, and brought thirty 
dollars each. A dose of the cheapest medicine in an 
apothecary's shop cost five dollars, and a physician's 
visit a hundred dollars. Unskilled laborers were 
paid twenty-five dollars a day. 

Money was not used at the mines, but in its place 
the ore itself, or "dust," at about sixteen dollars an 
ounce. Miners carried small scales, weighed their 
gold dust, and paid their bills with it. 

At the rough log tavern : " What do you charge 
for dinner here } " " Half an ounce." 

At the wayside store : " What 's the price of these 
boots } " " Three ounces." 

296. The Pony Express and its Remarkable History. — 
San Francisco, being the principal base of operations 
and the center of much of the immense travel to and 
from the mines, grew in a few years from a cluster 
of shanties to a large and wealthy city. The people 
of California now demanded more frequent and more 
expeditious transmission of mail matter than that by 
steamers and across the Isthmus. 



350 



The Story of American History. 



It was finally decided to establish a horseback letter 
express between St. Joseph, on the Missouri River, 
and San Francisco, about two thousand miles. It 
was a daring and hazardous project. But the express 
began business in April, i860, and made the through 

trip in ten days. Only 
letters were carried. 
The charge was five 
dollars each, after- 
wards reduced one- 
half. The company 
had sixty hardy riders 
and four hundred and 
twenty strong, fast 
horses, though it was 
nicknamed the "pony 
express." 

A rider started from each end of the journey at 
the same hour. There were stations every twenty- 
five miles for keeping and changing horses. On a 
postman's arrival at a station the bags were instantly 
slung on a fresh horse (for never more than two 
minutes must be spent at a station), and away went 
the new courier for the next station. The speed was 
by and by increased, until the long run was made in 
only eight days ! 



'^■t.s 




The "Pony Express" Rider. 



The Settlement of the Pacific Coast. 351 

Ah ! that was furious riding ! What speed they 
made! In 1861 the pony riders took President Lin- 
coln's message through in one hundred and eighty- 
five hours ! It was dangerous riding too. Day and 
night, over sandy plains and lofty mountains, on, on 
dashed these bold riders. 

The " pony express " was worth to the nation a 
hundred times its cost. Why? Because just at that 
time our Civil War was beginning to darken the land, 
and the South was making desperate efforts to entice 
the vast Pacific region to unite with the seceding 
states. This " pony express " line proved to be the 
first strand of a strong cable to unite the East and 
the West. 

297. More Rapid Means of Communication between the 
East and the Pacific Coast urgently needed. — For many 
years before i860 there was talk of the urgent need, 
and finally of the absolute necessity, of closer con- 
nection between the old East and the new West. 
There were plenty of reasons for a railroad ; but 
in 1 86 1 there came another overpowering reason that 
eclipsed all others. The war for the Union had begun, 
and it was a matter of supreme importance that the 
Pacific states should be saved in the Union. No 
step could' lead more surely toward this result than 
to have a railroad for constant and swift travel. 



352 The Story of American History. 

298. The Railroad over the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific 
Coast rapidly built. — In 1863 the great work was 
begun. The government was wonderfully generous 
and contributed money and land freely, for it was felt 
that the railroad must be built as quickly as possible. 
The completion of the gigantic undertaking in 1869 
at Ogden, Utah, was gayly celebrated. Two trains, 
loaded with passengers from New York and San 
Francisco, approached each other at this place. The 
last rail was laid, the last rivet clinched, the last spike, 
a spike of gold sent from California, was driven, 
when the locomotives moved up and saluted, amid 
the cheers of the enthusiastic throngs ! 

In seven years' time, from 1849 to 1856, the gold 
found in California was worth nearly five hundred 
millions of dollars ! Imagine the effect of such an 
output of the precious metal upon the industries and 
commerce of our country ! 

California is still rich in its gold, but it is still richer 
in its wonderful climate and its marvelous scenery ; 
in the wealth of its grain fields ; its sheep and cattle ; 
its orange groves and its vineyards. These make 
California the real El Dorado, — the real land of 
gold, and ensure the prosperity and happiness of 
its people. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

LINCOLN AND THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

299. Abraham Lincoln; the Abiding Influence of his Good 
Mother. — The early settlers in the Western states 
were generally very poor. It was the honorable pov- 
erty of the pioneer, who bravely begins with only 
his axe and a few tools, with which he builds his 
log cabin, clears the forest, and works his way to 
competence and comfort. 

So lived in L?rue County, in the state of Ken- 
tucky, about fifty miles south of Louisville, Thomas 
Lincoln and his wife Nancy, in a rude log cabin 
with no windows, a dirt floor, and only a flap- 
ping bearskin for a door ! In this humble abode, 
which they called home, there was born to them on 
February 12, 1809, a son, Abraham. 

The father was a strong and kindly man, and the 
mother was a woman rather above her lowly position 
in life, and well educated for the time and place. As 
her boy grew up she read to him stories from the 
Bible and taught him to read for himself. 

In after years, when Abraham Lincoln had gained 

353 



354 ^^^^ Stoiy of ' American History. 

the people's ear, men noticed that he scarcely made 
a speech or wrote a state paper in which there was 
not an illustration or a quotation from the Bible. 
He had been thoroughly instructed in it by his 
mother. It was the one book to which she, being a 
woman of deep religious feeling, turned for sympathy 
and guidance. Out of it she taught her boy to spell 
and read, and with its principles she so familiarized 
him that they always governed his after life. 

When Abraham was eight years old the family 
moved to Indiana, where, in about a year, his mother 
died. This was an unutterable grief to him, for he 
loved her most deeply and tenderly. Throughout 
his life he revered her memory, and when he was 
in his prime he said, " All that I am or hope to be, 
I owe to my mother." 

300. How Lincoln learned to read Good Books. — Young 
Lincoln attended school only six weeks. He was a 
tall, gaunt lad, and his long, stout arms were very 
useful to his father on the farm. 

Like Franklin, he had a hunger for books, and 
having none himself, he used to w^alk miles to some 
family to borrow them. Every evening he used to 
read by the log fire Pilgrims Progress, the poems of 
Robert Burns, The Life of Washington, or Plutarch's 
Lives. Think of that boy sitting before the cabin fire. 



Lincoln and the War for the Union. 355 



reading over and over the story of Washington ; and 
then think of what he came to be. 

When the family went to bed he used to dimb, on 
a rude ladder of stout pegs driven in the logs, up to 
his bed made of hay, and there, by the light of his 
tallow candle, would read 
over and over his precious 
books. He bought a biog- 
raphy of Washington with 
three hard days' work at 
twenty-five cents a day. 
He carried the book with 
him to the field, and read 
it at the noon hour and 
while the horse rested. 

301. Some Things Lincoln 
did when a Young Man. — 
When Lincoln was about 
twenty-one, the family 
moved to Illinois. The 
young man was rugged 
and tall, six feet and four inches, but very strong. 
In feats of running, jumping, and wrestling he easily 
surpassed the best men in the county. 

He was hired at ten dollars a month to go down 
to New Orleans on a flatboat loaded v/ith farm 




lincolxn reading his favorite 
Books by the Fireside. 



356 The Story of American History. 

produce. On the trip he saw gangs of slaves chained 
together, and he attended a slave auction, where men, 
women, and children were bid off like cattle. The 
painful sight sank deep into his heart, and he never 
forgot it. He was a soldier in the Black Hawk war, 
and was chosen by his comrades captain of the com- 
pany, for all the men loved and respected him. 

302. Makes up his Mind to become a Lawyer. — Young 
Lincoln grew rapidly in public esteem. People took 
kindly to him, for he was himself kind and unselfish. 
Though awkwardly tall and homely, there was a some- 
thing tender and friendly about him, which made every 
one feel that he was honest and sincere. 

As the years passed Lincoln kept on steadily edu- 
cating himself by devoting every leisure hour to his 
books. He took regular studies, such as grammar, 
arithmetic, geometry, which he exceedingly enjoyed. 

He was a thoughtful reader of a few of the great 
English classics. He could repeat numerous scenes 
from Shakespeare and many of the poems of Robert 
Burns. Whatever he read was read thoroughly — to 
understand it. 

His need of money led the ambitious young man 
to study surveying, as Washington did — a very desir- 
able attainment in a new country. He surveyed well. 
Everything he did, he did well. 



Lincobi and the War for the Union. 357 

Visiting a courthouse one day, he heard for the 
first time the argument of a lawyer. He was absorbed 
and dehghted. Never before had anything so capti- 
vated his imagination. From that day he made up 
his mind to be a lawyer. Too poor to waste any 
money on shoes, he walked twelve miles barefoot once 
to borrow a law book ; and he came home reading it 
as he walked. 

303, His Early Studies and Rapid Advancement in his 
Profession. — The struggling young lawyer now care- 
fully studied the art of the clear and exact expression 
of thought' He attended that nursery of American 
oratory, the country debating club, and was a faithful 
student of the best method of speaking, making rapid 
progress by long and patient practice. 

We no longer think of him as the boy of the log 
house, the homespun clothes, the coon-skin cap, and 
the bare feet, but rather as the brave young lawyer, 
studious, honest, persevering, self-reliant, and always 
faithful to duty. 

After this Lincoln's advancement is rapid. His 
worthy traits draw to him many and strong friends. 
At twenty-five he is elected to the legislature. He 
discharges the duties of the ofiice so well that two 
years later he is chosen again. Now an older lawyer 
invites him to be his partner. 



358 The Story of American History. 

He has become a man of note. 'People come from 
far to consult him. His growing fame daily widens. 
The people next call him to a higher place. At 
thirty-nine he is honored by being chosen a mem- 
ber of Congress. He fills the place with credit and 
honor. He is now the rising man of his state. 

304. Slavery as a Menace to the Country. — There had 
always been one serious trouble in our republic — 
slavery. It began early. About a year before the 
Pilgrims came over in the Mayflower a Dutch ship 
brought twenty negroes from Africa to Virginia, and 
they were sold as slaves to the planters. 

As years passed the traffic rapidly increased, and 
paid an enormous profit. Some of the colonists tried 
to stop this, but in vain ; it was profitable. Soon 
slavery spread all over the country; mostly in the 
South, but somewhat even in New England. In the 
South, slaves were very useful in raising tobacco 
and rice, and, later, cotton and sugar cane. 

At the formation of the republic all the Southern 
states came in as slave states. To this most of the 
Northern people, though they held slavery to be 
a great wrong, and feared that it would some day 
bring serious trouble, did not strenuously object, 
because it had long existed throughout the colonies. 
But as years passed the North strongly opposed the 



Lincoln and the War for the Union. 



359 



extension of slavery into new states or free territory. 
The South, however, had come to beheve that slav- 
ery was right. When Missouri asked admission to 
the Union, the 
South claimed 
that it shoul d 
be received as a 
slave state. The 
North said, No ! 
There was a 
great discussion 
over this ques- 
tion, which was 
finally settled in 
182 1 by allowing 
Missouri to come 
in as a slave state. 
After this it was 
understood that 
slavery should 
never be intro- 
duced north of 
the line of its southern boundary. 

305. Lincoln chosen President of the United States. - — In 
1854 an effort was made to bring in Kansas and 
Nebraska as possible slave states. This at once 




Abraham Lincoln. 



360 The Story of American History. 

aroused a storm of indignation throughout the North. 
Mr. Lincohi stood forth as a champion of freedom, 
and Stephen A. Douglas, popularly known as "the 
little giant of the West," supported the claims of the 
South. They held public debates all through Illinois, 
being rival candidates for the United States Senate. 

These great debates were listened to by thousands. 
Lincoln's speeches especially attracted much atten- 
tion. They were printed and read in all sections. 
Many a voter said, " How plain he makes it all ! He 
says it far better than I could." This contest raged 
in 1859. Douglas won the smaller prize of senator; 
but Lincoln, suddenly lifted into national fame by his 
splendid defense of freedom, was next year chosen 
President of the United States. 

He was elected because of the firm determination of 
the North that, while they would not disturb slavery 
where it already existed, it should not extend any 
farther into free territory. This resolve was not 
unfriendly to the Southern people. It did not invade 
their rights as the North understood them. It was 
not intended as a threat to the people of that sec- 
tion ; but they chose so to regard it and immediately 
took a hostile attitude. 

In December, i860, South Carolina seceded, then 
other states; so that before Mr. Lincoln began his 



Lincoln mid the War for the Union, 361 

duties as President the seven cotton states had 
seceded. Beheving that they had a right to do so, 
they formed a government of their own and assumed 
a wadike attitude to the general government. 

306. The Momentous Responsibilities of the Position. — 
We have traced the poor boy of the Western cabin 
step by step up to the highest office of the nation, 
to rule as the chief magistrate of thirty millions of 
people. It was not a nation in peace, but torn 
asunder, each half in deadly conflict with the other. 
Upon him were to rest the control of vast armies, of 
a great navy, the decision of questions of unspeakable 
importance, and the solution of most perplexing inter- 
national problems. 

Can this self-trained lawyer from the Western prai- 
ries bear all this sudden and tremendous burden, and 
bear it with courage, credit, and success ? Surely no 
man of modern times ever faced a greater or more 
difficult task. 

307. War begins; the Effect at the North and in the 
South. — The next month (April 12, 1861) after 
Lincoln's inauguration, Fort Sumter, in Charleston 
Harbor, was attacked by a circle of nineteen hostile 
batteries. After thirty-six hours of furious bombard- 
ment. Major Anderson, his powder and food being- 
exhausted, his flagstaff shot away, his fort crumbling 



362 The Story of American History. . 

and on fire, felt that he could do nothing but surren- 
der. He and his little force, carrying with them 
their tattered flag, were taken on board a Union ship 
to New York. 

The shots fired at Sumter kindled another fire all 
through the North. A conflagration of patriotic zeal 
flamed up all over the loyal states. The people 
accepted instantly the awful challenge and sternly 
resolved to defend the endangered Union at every 
hazard. 

Both sides had been deceived. Vast numbers 
through the North had not believed the slave states 
would really carry out their threat of secession. Vast 
numbers through the South had always believed the 
North would never fight, but at the last moment 
would consent to some sort of compromise. 

Northern men felt that they had in no way wronged 
the South, that no act of theirs and no word of Presi- 
dent Lincoln had given cause for precipitating the 
horrors of a civil war. 

Southern men claimed that according to the Decla- 
ration of Independence all governments derive their 
power from the consent of the governed, and that the 
South had a riorht to withdraw its consent and estab- 

o 

lish a government of its own. Althouorh there were 
some disloyal men all through the North, political 



Lincoln and the War for the Union. 363 

parties vied with each other in the fervor of general 
devotion to one country and one flag. The Presi- 
dent's call for seventy-five thousand volunteers was 
answered by the enthusiastic enlistment of the whole 
number. 

In the South the excitement was equally great, 
but different in character. The masses went wild 
with passionate delight ; but very many thoughtful 
people lamented the bombardment of Sumter as hasty, 
reckless, and ruinous. Some of the states were at first 
unwilling to secede, and finally went out reluctantly ; 
but a belief that they were right swept them along, 
and, once out, they were as active as any. 

308. Vigorous Efforts to preserve the Union. — Neither 
side was prepared for a long war, but the South 
was much better prepared to begin it than the North. 
Instantly every effort was put forth by the gov- 
ernment to preserve the Union. Scores of warships 
blockaded the Southern ports to prevent cotton from 
being sent to England, and to cut off English ships 
from bringing in supplies, especially military stores. 

The governments of Europe, except the Russian, 
were unfriendly to us. Four more states soon se- 
ceded, making eleven out of the fifteen slave states. 
Thousands of troops were gathered for the defense 
of the National Capital. 



364 



The Story of American History. 



In July a Confederate army of about thirty thou- 
sand threatened Washington. A battle was fought 
at Manassas, only thirty miles southwest of the city. 

At first the 
Union forces 
had the advan- 
tage and seemed 
victorious ; but 
just then heavy 
reinforcements 
of fresh troops 
came to help the 
Confederates, 
drove back the 
weary forces, and 
the day ended in 
Union disaster. 
This battle of 
Manassas, or 
Bull Run, was a 
severe and un- 
expected defeat. It shovv^ed the scope of the tremen- 
dous conflict yet to come. There was not much more 
heavy fighting during the remainder of that year ; both 
sides were busily making enormous preparations for 
the future struggle. 




Map of Seat of War in Virginia. 



Lincoln and the War for the Union. 365 

309. The Desperate Struggles of 1862. — In the early 
part of the next year (1862) each side had ready 
in the field about half a million of men. In the 
East, General McClellan, with a large army, set out 
in April from Washington for Richmond. He ad- 
vanced within seven miles of that city, where was 
fouo-ht the battle of Fair Oaks. Neither side was 
victorious. The desperate seven days' battles soon 
followed, with result still indecisive. This, the so- 
called Peninsular Campaign, failed of its purpose. 

In September the Confederate General Lee 
marched north and, invading Maryland, fought the 
bloody battle of Antietam. He was slightly worsted, 
and forced to retire into Virginia. 

In the West, General Grant, the coming man, with 
the help of Commodore Foote's fleet of gunboats, 
captured in February Forts Henry and Donelson 
with ten thousand prisoners. Soon followed the des- 
perate battle of Shiloh, in which Grant, reinforced by 
General Buell, repulsed the Confederates. 

In April a great navy and army sailed up the 
Mississippi River, bombarded the forts below New 
Orleans, then passed up and captured the city. This 
was an important Union triumph. 

The year had been one of many hard-fought bat- 
tles, only a few of which we are able to mention. 



366 The Story of American History, 

The general result was in the East lamentable failure, 
but in the West brilliant success, of the Union armies. 

At the close of 1862, after a year and a half of 
fighting, the war had already lasted longer than either 
side expected when it began. At first both had hoped 
that after a few months the trouble would be settled 
by some kind of agreement or compromise. Each 
side was surprised at the vast number of soldiers, 
the immense military equipment, and the determined 
spirit shown by the other. 

310. The Emancipation of the Slaves. — As the war 
went on, it was plain that the tens of thousands of 
slaves, although they did not actually fight in the 
Southern armies, were helping the South just as 
much as if they carried muskets. They built forts, 
toiled in gun shops and powder mills, and raised 
crops at home. This, of course, released thousands of 
whites from home duties and swelled the ranks of the 
Confederate army. It was a terrible and costly war. 
The final result even seemed doubtful. To save the 
Union the South must be crippled at every possible 
point. To set the slaves free was to weaken the 
South. Mr. Lincoln held that a sound principle of 
military law gave him the authority to abolish slavery. 
He proposed to do it primarily as an act of military 
necessity by virtue of his office as Commander-in- 



Lincoln and the War for the Union. 367 

Chief of the army, just as when a general in active 
warfare destroys buildings or burns bridges to aid his 
army operations. 

It was sound common sense, as well as a profound 
military policy, to seize the most favorable opportu- 
nity to strike at the real cause of the trouble. Public 
opinion was rapidly shaping itself to this end. Lin- 
coln was one of the most clear-sighted and sagacious 
of men. He patiently abided his time for so momen- 
tous a step. 

311. The Proclamation of Emancipation. — Finally, acting 
on his own judgment and that of his trusted advisers, 
Lincoln issued in September, 1862, his warning 
proclamation to the effect that if the Confederate 
States did not cease hostilities before the first of the 
next January, all slaves within the Confederate lines 
should be thenceforth and forever free. 

The negroes very soon heard this wonderful news 
and many thousands of them eagerly awaited the 
coming of the day when " Massa Linkum would set 
'em free." They looked upon the good President as 
the savior of their race. 

On that famous morning, January i, 1863, the 
prophecy was fulfilled. That New Year's Day will 
be forever memorable as the date of the great Eman- 
cipation Proclamation, an act by which four millions 



368 The Story of American History, 

of slaves were brought from the night of bondage to 
the sunHght of freedom. 

This was the monumental event of the w^ar, per- 
haps the wisest thing President Lincoln ever did 
or ever could do. In after years it will perhaps be 
regarded as the greatest event of the century. Few 
men in all history have had an opportunity of doing 
a deed of so vast and far-reaching importance. 

Emancipation was quickly followed by the enlist- 
ment of negroes, or " freedmen " as they were now 
called, as soldiers in the armies of the Union. Dur- 
ing the year 1863 more than fifty thousand of them, 
and before the end of the war nearly two hundred 
thousand, had enlisted under the banner of freedom. 
They were good soldiers, and on many a battlefield 
they fought with an unflinching courage. 




CHAPTER XXIV. 

MORE ABOUT THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

312. Union Defeat at Chancellorsville. — Now let us 
return to our narrative of a few of the prominent 
military operations of the war. In May, 1863, the 
army of the Potomac, under General Hooker, moved 
southward from Washington. At 
Chancellorsville it was met by a 
Confederate force under Generals 
Lee and Jackson. The battle lasted 
two days, and was disastrous to the 
Union arms ; in fact, the worst defeat 

of the war. It marked the zenith of -stonewall" 
Confederate success. In this battle Jackson. 

" Stonewall " Jackson, so called from his splendid firm- 
ness, one of the ablest of the Southern generals,, was 
mortally wounded. 

313. The Mighty Struggle at Gettysburg. — General 
Lee, proud of this success, now resolved to lead his 
army into the North. Sweeping past Washington 
and across Maryland, he pushed up into Pennsyl- 
vania, the whole country around being terrified at 

369 



370 



The Stoiy of American History, 



his approach, especially Baltimore and Philadelphia, 
both of which cities were threatened. Lee had now 
eighty thousand soldiers, the finest army the South 
ever possessed. The army of the Potomac, under 
the command of General Meade, whom Grant called 
the right man in the right place, followed closely. 

The two defiant armies 
met at Gettysburg, 
where occurred the most 
momentous battle ever 
fought on this continent. 
It lasted three days, July 
1-3, 1863. The first 
day's fighting ended in 
favor of the Confeder- 
ates. On the second 
day their desperate 
efforts to drive the 
Union forces from their positions were repelled, but 
with an enormous loss on each side. 

On the third day came the final test. The brave 
Confederate General Pickett led many thousands of 
soldiers over an open plain in a most desperate 
charge to break the Union center. On, on they 
came, their ranks now torn through and through by 
Union shot and shell, but still on they charged. 




General Meade. 



More abotit the War for the Union. 



2>V 



Drawing nearer, up they rushed to the Union line 
with the famiHar Southern yell, and with frantic fury 
dashed upon our firm-set ranks. Our men wavered 
with the mighty shock and for a moment fell back, 
but instantly rallied 
with t li e Union 
cheer. 

In the furious on- 
set and the hand- 
to-hand fight, friend 
and foe fell by 
thousands. But the 
charcrinof battalions 
were shattered, 
crushed, driven 
back, melting away 
under the concen- 
trated fire, and only 
some few fragments 

^ , , . General Robert E. Lee. 

or all that vast 

column straQ:Q:led back over the field of death. 

Lee was baffled, defeated; the Union was safe. 
The invaders, with that vast army that came with 
stately pride, went back to Virginia with sorrowing 
memories of the direst disaster of the war. Never 
again did a large Confederate force hazard a march 




372 The Story of American History. 

into the North. After Gettysburg there was little 
hope of Confederate triumph. 

314. Memorials of the Victory. — Gettysburg was a costly 
victory. Over that broad area of the three days' battles, 
strewn through wood and meadow, on field and hill, 
lay the bodies of thousands of soldiers. One-third of 
Lee's entire army, and about a fourth of the Union 
forces, had been killed or wounded. The arena of 
fiercest fighting in the third day's final charge is now 
marked by a suitable monument, which bears upon a 
bronze tablet an inscription that indicates the historical 
importance of the spot. 

Upon opposite columns are also inscribed the 
names of the of^cers who led the surging columns 
of gray, and the names of those officers who held 
firm the impregnable walls of blue. 

The whole field of battle, covering several square 
miles, is dotted with hundreds of similar memorials of 
many varieties. These monuments have been erected 
year after year by the survivors or by their friends. 
They indicate the positions held by regiments, bri- 
gades, and divisions, where desperate charges and 
equally desperate repulses occurred, or where gallant 
officers fell. 

315. Lincoln^s Masterly Address at Gettysburg. — In 
November, 1863, the central portion of the battlefield 



More about the Wa7^ for the Union. 



73 



was set apart as a National Cemetery and dedicated 
with solemn ceremonies. The most important of 
these was the notably eloquent address by President 
Lincoln, which has passed into history as an event 
hardly less memo- 
rable than the great 
conflict itself. Per- 
haps in no language, 
ancient or modern, 
are any words found 
more comprehensive 
and eloquent than 
this brief speech. 

Time has tested 
the strength of this 
short, simple address. 
After more than a 
quarter of a century 
it is still as familiar 
as household words. 

316. Success of General Grant in the West. — Let us 
now read about a few of the great events of the 
war in the West during the first half of the year 
1863. Here General Grant was the central figure 
of important military operations. He had already 
become prominent by the brilliant campaigns we 




General U. S. Grant, 



374 



The Story of A 



inerican 



History. 



liave mentioned. His remarkable career furnishes 
one of the many examples of great men coming up 
from obscure and unpromising conditions of life. 

He was born in Ohio in 1822, and received a mili- 
tary education at West Point. He was a successful 
officer in the Mexican War, having been engaged in 




Map of Military Operations in the West. 

nearly all the battles of the war, where he manifested 
conspicuous bravery. Returning from Mexico, he 
engaged a while in farming, but with discouraging 
results. ■ Evidently it was not his vocation. 

When the Civil War opened. Grant was employed 
at a small salary in his father's leather store in Galena, 



Mo7^e about the War for the Union. 375 

Illinois. He at once offered the governor his services, 
and was appointed a colonel of an Illinois regiment. 
He rose rapidly to conspicuous positions. 

317. Capture of Vicksburg. — General Grant, after defeat- 
ing the Confederates at the battle of Shiloh, and driv- 
ing them south to Corinth, followed them to Vicksburg. 
This was a stronghold from which they seemed to 
defy every effort to dislodge them. 

The city stands on a high bluff some two hundred 
feet above the Mississippi, and as there were heavy 
batteries all along the river front and on the hillsides, 
Grant could not attack the city with his gunboats. 
On the north there were miles of swamps and creeks, 
so that he could not approach on that side. On the 
east the city was heavily fortified with cannon. 

President Lincoln and the country expected Gen- 
eral Grant to capture Vicksburg. What could he do } 
Witness his superb generalship ! 

He first protected against cannon shot a number of 
gunboats and steamers by means of bales of hay, and 
planned to run them past eight miles of batteries 
one dark night in April. This movement was so 
perilous that officers would not order their men to go, 
but called for volunteers. So many were eager to go 
that lots were drawn for a chance. One soldier 
refused one hundred dollars for his place. 



376 The Story of Americmi History. 

Soon as the watchful Confederates sighted the first 
boat of the grim procession, they opened a deafening 
cannonade, and started a series of bonfires that 
Hghted up "all the miles of that voyage of death. 
Some of the transports were destroyed, but enough 
got through to answer the general's purpose. 

Next Grant ferried his army across the river some 
miles below Vicksburg, and fought and defeated Gen- 
eral Pemberton's troops, which had moved down to 
meet him. Then, learning that General Johnston was 
coming to attack him, he marched up between the two 
armies. On his east side he met Johnston's army and 
defeated it. Thence he turned west and drove Pem- 
berton again, and the next day routed him once more 
and drove his entire army into Vicksburg. 

Commodore Porter's gunboats now threw huge 
shells into the doomed city from the river and Grant's 
army bombarded it on the east. It was an awful siege. 
No building was safe. The people lived in caves dug 
in the sides of the hills. Food was so scarce that 
mules, cats, dogs, and rats were devoured. At last, 
after seven weeks of siege, Pemberton, on July 4, sur- 
rendered his entire army of about thirty thousand men, 
the largest force captured during the war. 

These two great victories, at Gettysburg and at 
Vicksburg, one in the East, the other in the West, both 



More about the War for the Unioji. 



Ill 



won at the same time, gave new hope to the Union 
cause. The Confederacy was at last cut in two, for 
the Mississippi River was open in its entire length, 
and its waters, in Mr. Lincoln's words, " flowed un- 
vexed to the sea." 

From this eventful Fourth of July in 1863 the 
strength of the Confederacy began to decay. There 
was little hope for its 
final success after this 
time. All its future 
contests only delayed 
the inevitable end. 

318. Two Other Impor- 
tant Victories in the West. 
— In September oc- 
curred the severe battle 
of Chickamauga, where 
the Union army would 
probably have been 
utterly defeated but for the valor of General Thomas, 
who thus won for himself the name of the " Rock of 
Chickamauga." Late in November the Union army 
was shut in at Chattanooga by the ever alert Confed- 
erates, and was relieved only by General Grant's 
skillful planning and hard fighting. 

This battle was fought on a cold, drizzly day. The 




General Thomas. 



37& 



The Story of American History. 



fog, settling on the valley and sides of Lookout Moun- 
tain, up which our brave boys climbed, covered the 
lower part of the advancing army so that only the 
upper lines were visible. This brilliant victory is 
popularly known as " the Battle above the Clouds." 
These movements ended the army operations of 1863. 
319. Sherman^s Famous March to the Sea. — The year 
1864 saw two great movements, both planned by 

General Grant, who had 
now been called by Pres- 
ident Lincoln to come 
to Washington and take 
control of all the armies 
of the Republic. One 
was his own advance 
against Richmond, and 
the other General Sher- 
man's famous " March to 
the Sea." 

General W. T. Sher- 
man, a brilliant officer 
and General Grant's dear comrade and lifelong friend, 
had driven his opponents southward and captured 
Atlanta. General Hood then very boldly but injudi- 
ciously led a Confederate army up to Nashville, where 
General Thomas attacked and utterly defeated him. 




General W. T. Sherman. 



More about the War for the Union. 379 

Meanwhile Sherman had begun his celebrated 
march to the sea. Having burned the mills, foundries, 
and workshops at Atlanta, which had been of great 
value to the Confederates, he started in November 
with an army of sixty thousand on a three-hundred- 
mile expedition to the Atlantic ! They marched on 
three and sometimes four parallel roads, foraging on 
the country, destroying railroads, burning bridges, and 
devastating a belt of territory from forty to sixty 
miles wide. Our army was followed by thousands of 
negroes, enjoying their new freedom. 

In December Sherman reached the sea and tele- 
graphed to President Lincoln the capture of Savan- 
nah as a Christmas present ! Resting there, he then 
marched his conquering legions north,, through both 
Carolinas, up to Goldsboro, having met and defeated 
Johnston's army at several points along the way. He 
was now able to aid General Grant, whose campaign 
against Richmond we must now consider. 

320. Grant's Advance on Richmond; Lee's Surrender at 
Appomattox. — Early in May, Grant had started with 
a hundred and twenty thousand men on his advance 
against Richmond. He pushed his work wath great 
vigor, fighting almost daily, but after every battle 
flanking Lee's right, and thus working constantly 
southward. It was a series of bloody battles, and 



38o 



The Story of A merican History, 



the slaughter was enormous; but such is war. He 
continued slowly advancing all summer, and in the 
fall of 1864 began the siege of Richmond. 

Finally, in April, 1865, General Sheridan had cut 

the last of the 
railroads sup- 
plying the Con- 
federate capi- 
tal. Then with 
Grant's army on 
one side and 
Sheridan's on 
the other, the 
C onf ederacy 
quickly col- 
lapsed. Jefferson 
Davis fled and 
a panic seized 
upon the people 
in the doomed 
city, while fire 
and havoc ran riot. The Union army soon marched 
in and restored order. 

One week later Lee surrendered his whole army 
at Appomattox. General Grant treated his fallen 
foes with great generosity, requiring only the oath 




General Sherman on his March 
TO the Sea. 



More about the War for the Union. 



381 



of officers and men not to fight further against the 
United States. The victorious general permitted all 
the men to keep their horses, to enable them, as he 
said, " to do their spring plowing on their farms." 

321. The Story of Sheridan^s Famous Ride. — Read's 
stirring poem, " Sheridan's Ride," has always been a 

favorite, for it records in verse 

the o:allant deed of one of the 
most brilliant generals in the war 
for the Union. In the early fall 
of 1864 Grant sent General Sheri- 
dan with a large force of cavalry 
to lay waste the Shenandoah Val- 
ley. Sheridan did the work so well 
that it was said, " If a crow wants 
to fly down the valley, he must 
carry his provisions with him." 

The story runs as follows : — 

One morning in October the Confederates ap- 
proached under cover of a fog and surprised the 
Union forces at Cedar Creek and put them to flight. 
Sheridan was then at Winchester, twenty miles away, 
slowly riding back to join his army. A messenger met 
him with the bad news. On his famous black horse 
he dashed forward at full speed down that "good 
broad highway, as with eagle flight," towards the line of 



III 


II "111 


Pljl 


KS^H 


I^M 



General Sheridan. 



382 The Story of American History, 

battle. As he came nearer he met the first of the 
fugitives and rallied them with fierce and forcible 
words. At once they were as eager to fight again 
as they had been ready to fly. 

A brave nucleus of the army which had not shared 
in the surprise was fighting with determined pluck to 
prevent disaster from becoming disgrace. Men said, 
" Oh for one hour of Sheridan ! " All at once a 
deafening cheer was heard above the roar of mus- 
ketry and artillery as the tired men recognized the 
long-looked-for Sheridan. The news flashed from 
brigade to brigade along the front with telegraphic 
speed. As the gallant general, cap in hand, dashed 
along the retreating lines, a continuous cheer burst 
from the whole army. 

The entire aspect of affairs seemed changed in a 
moment. Further retreat was no longer thought of. 
" This retreat must be stopped ! " shouted Sheridan to 
his of^cers as he galloped down the lines. The line 
of battle was speedily re-formed ; the retreating army 
turned its face to the foe. 

The ranks of the Confederates swayed and broke 
everywhere before the charge of the Union cavalry 
and the impetuous advance of the infantry. They 
were completely defeated, with the loss of many 
prisoners, and nearly all of their guns. 



More about the War for the Union, 



3^3 



Sheridan's ride to the front, October 19, 1864, has 
passed into history as one of the most thrilHng events 
that have ever given interest to a battle scene. 
Stripped of all poetic gloss, the result achieved by 
Sheridan's superb generalship, after reaching his shat- 
tered army on the field of 
Cedar Creek, still stands, with 
few if any parallels in history, 
as an illustration of the mao:- 
netic influ- 
ence of one 
man over 
many, and as '^^^' 
an example 
of snatching 
a great vic- 
tory from an 
appalling 
defeat. 

322. Death 
of Lincoln. — 
Wild was 
the delight 

of the country when peace came. There were public 
meetings, processions, bonfires, every possible dkplay 
of universal joy ! 




Sheridan rallying his Troops at Cedar Creek. 



384 The Story of American History, 

Suddenly, like a total eclipse at noonday, came the 
darkness of a great sorrow. Abraham Lincoln, the 
great and good President, whose heart had bled for 
the nation's suffering, who had never held a trace of 
bitter feeling towards the South, was shot down by 
an assassin ! 

Instantly the nation was plunged into the deepest 
sorrow ; joy ended in grief, delight was turned to 
mourning. Ninety thousand Union soldiers had 
been slain, but this last sacrifice overshadowed all. 
Never before was a great nation shrouded in a sor- 
row so deep. Thousands mourned, as for the loss 
of a personal friend. 

The people hardly realized till his death the great- 
ness of this man, the hero of the mighty struggle by 
which the Union was saved. From that day to this, 
the admiration and love, not only of the nation but 
of all mankind, have been increasing for the great 
and kind-hearted man, the wise leader, the blameless 
President, — Abraham Lincoln. 

323. The Cost of the War. — The cost of the four 
years' war was something tremendous. At the close 
of the strife the total debt was about three thousand 
millions of dollars ! This, however, was but a small 
part of the loss. 

The cost in human life can never be estimated in 



More about the War for the Union. 385 

money. The area fought over was so large that there 
was fighting somewhere almost every day ! The 
number of battles, great and small, was more than 
two thousand ! The total Union loss of men killed 
in battle and of those who died of wounds and disease 
was not less than three hundred and sixty thousand. 
The number of enlisted soldiers on the Union side 
was over two and a half millions. 

324. Grand Review of Troops at Washington. — At the 
close of the war a grand review of Union troops was 
held at Washington. These comprised the army of 
the Potomac, commanded by General Meade in per- 
son, and Sherman's army fresh from its march to 
the sea. These battle-scarred veterans, perhaps one- 
fifth of all the Union soldiers who had tramped and 
fought for years, now passed in review, bearing aloft 
the tattered and shot-torn flags around which they 
had rallied on many a battlefield. The two days 
were beautiful and the sight was superb. 

The National Capital was full of strangers in holi- 
day dress, and every house was decorated with flags. 
For two days the two armies marched in close column 
around the Capitol, down Pennsylvania Avenue, past 
the President and cabinet, who occupied a large 
stand prepared for the occasion in front of the White 
House. On the second day it took six hours and 



386 The Story of American History. 

a half for Sherman's magnificent army of sixty-five 
thousand sunburnt veterans to march in solid columns 
in review before the President. 

This grand review was a fitting conclusion to the 
war. The million men who were still in arms at the 
close of the war, old comrades of camp and field, 
shook hands and parted, each to his home, where 
mother or sister or wife or children or other dear 
ones awaited the long-absent soldier. 

325. The Country after the War. — The war proved 
beyond all question that the American Republic is 
a nation, not a league, and it rid it also of human 
slavery. It took, of course, a long time for the bitter 
feeling on both sides to die away. More than a 
generation has passed since the great Civil War 
desolated our fair land. The people of to-day have 
little cause to recall its sufferings and horrors. 

How dear to the hearts of the American people 
are the familiar ceremonies of Memorial Day ! What 
more impressive object lesson could our children have 
than to see the gray-haired veterg,ns marching with 
thinner ranks and more faltering steps, on this sacred 
anniversary ! 



CHAPTER XXV. 

OUR NAVY IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

326. Our Navy at the Beginning of the War. — For a 
number of months before the breaking out of the 
war the Southern leaders of the secession movement 
had been quietly but skillfully preparing for it. 

A large part of the soldiers had been sent off to 
the frontier posts. Rifles, cannon, and all such sup- 
plies had been taken months before from Northern 
stations and sent South. Our navy had been pur- 
posely scattered all over the world. More ships were 
abroad or useless than were at home fit for service. 
The whole number available after the attack on Fort 
Sumter was only thirteen. 

All through the South most of the southern-born 
officers of the government who were in control of Fed- 
eral property, as custom houses, post offices, arsenals, 
forts, navy yards, and ships, abandoned their trust, or 
turned all these properties over to the seceding 
states. 

It was in reference to such a piece of transfer that 
the Secretary of the Treasury, John A. Dix, sent to 

387 



388 The Story of American History, 

New Orleans that famous telegram which thrilled the 
whole North: — 

" If any one attempts to haul down the American 
flag, shoot him on the spot ! " 

Great was the peril. More vessels must be had, 
and that at once. The seventeen warships in foreign 
ports were called home, scores of steamers were bought 
and dozens were built as quickly as possible. 

327. Urgent Need of Vessels to blockade Southern Ports. 

— One of the most urgent needs for a navy was to 
blockade the Southern ports. This was to be done 
by stationing well-armed ships near the mouth of 
every harbor to seize any vessel trying to get out with 
a cargo of cotton, or to capture any ship coming in 
with supplies. " Running " this blockade was a profit- 
able but dangerous business. 

But we can judge whether our gallant navy did 
its duty in watching the eighteen hundred miles of 
Southern coast line, if we remember that during the 
four years of the war the Union blue-jackets captured 
or destroyed over fifteen hundred blockade runners 

— more than one a day. 

328. Naval Operations on the Western Rivers. — The 
Confederates had fortified many cities and impor- 
tant bluffs along the Mississippi River and its 



Our Navy in the War for the Union. 389 

branches, and had built many heavy gunboats. Our 
government had at first not a single gunboat to meet 
them. Something must be done very soon. In less 
than a hundred days there were built at St. Louis, 
from the keel up, with powerful engines, heavy armor 
plate, and cannon, eight powerful gunboats, all ready 
for action. These ironclads, with some mortar boats, 
did effective service at the capture of Forts Henry 
and Donelson, of Columbus, Memphis, and Vicks- 
burg, and all along the rivers. 

329. How New Orleans was protected against an Attack by 
the Union Forces. — While the Union ironclads were 
fighting farther north along the Mississippi and other 
large rivers, Commodore Farragut was doing valiant 
work below New Orleans. This city was protected 
by two strong forts. 

Just below the forts there stretched from each 
bank towards the middle a big boom of logs. The 
space in the middle of the river between the ends of 
the booms was filled with hulks of old ships, first 
firmly anchored, then heavily chained to each other, 
and lashed to the booms with huge cables, making 
almost a bridge. Above this formidable barrier was 
a fleet of iron rams and gunboats. 

Besides all this, there were a number of fire rafts, 
loaded with cotton and hay, ready to be set in a blaze 



390 



The Story of American History. 



and float down on any Union craft that would dare 

to come up. How was it possible for the Union 

vessels to force their way up the river in the face of 

^^-'' ^ --^^ these obstructions? 

330. Farragut pre- 
pares for the Attack. 
— Farragut had 
about fifty vessels 
all told: frigates, 
ships, sloops, gun- 
boats, and mor- 
tar vessels. He 
anchored the mor- 
tar boats around a 
point of land nearly 
two miles below the 
forts, and dressed 
them with ever- 
greens and foliage 
of trees, disguising 
their position. Then the great thirteen-inch bombs 
burst inside and amund the forts all day, all night, for 
six days. 

Meanwhile two small gunboats went one night 
up to the chained hulks to break the barrier; and 
though detected and fired on, the officers worked 




Admiral Farragut. 



Our Navy in the War for the Union. 391 

calmly and persistently. They contrived to get a 
gunboat through, then steamed up the river, turned 
and rushed down on the cable with such force as to 
break it ! Daylight showed a wide opening for the 
Union fleet. 

331. The Grand Work done by Farragut and his Fleet. 
— The next morning at two o'clock, April 24, 1862, 
the fleet steamed up. The forts fired and the ships 
fired, but the fleet kept moving in the darkness. 
Soon one passed through, then another, the swift 
ones dashing ahead. 

But the flagship Hartford, on which was Farra- 
gut, having passed through, turned aside to avoid 
a blazing fire raft, when she ran aground ! Then 
the Confederates, seeing the Hartford stuck fast, 
pushed a fire raft up against it. Instantly the flames 
flashed along the rigging and the ports, the big guns 
of the fort meanwhile pounding her. But the gun 
crews kept working their cannon as steadily as if 
on practice, and the rest fought the flames, and soon 
subdued them. The flagship was saved. Other ships 
passed up, all fighting, some surviving by hairbreadth 
escapes; a few were lost. 

When the morning sun rose, the astounding w^ork 
had been done, the gates of fire had been passed, and 
the Union fleet under Farragut was triumphant. New 



392 The Story of American History, 

Orleans was captured and the control of the river 
secured nearly up to Vicksburg. 

332. The Merrimac and the Monitor. — When the war 
for the Union began, and just before the Confederates 
seized the navy yard at Norfolk, the commanding 
ofhcer there contrived to burn or sink all the ships; 
but the best one, the Merrimac, was soon raised and 
rebuilt as a powerful ironclad. 

When the fine old frigate had been remodeled her 
entire appearance was changed. She had no longer 
the appearance of a ship, but seemed like a house 
afloat. The story is told that an old sailor on board 
the Cumberland, who first sighted her, reported 
gravely to the officer of the deck, " Quaker meeting- 
house floating down the bay, sir." 

In anticipation of what harm it might do, the 
government engaged Captain Ericsson, a Swedish 
inventor in New York, to build as quickly as possible, 
after his own plans, an ironclad, a new and very odd- 
shaped kind of warship — the now famous Monitor. 
The construction was pushed day and night without 
an hour of delay. 

333. Attack of the Merrimac on the Union Fleet. — Before 
long the dreaded Merrimac was finished, and on 
March 8, 1862, the ponderous black monster steamed 
slowly out to attack the Union ships in Hampton 



Our Navy in the War for the U^iioji. 393 

Roads. She made straight for the fine frigate Cum- 
berland, the soHd shot of whose broadside fell like 
pebbles into the sea from the slopes of the huge iron- 
clad. On, on came the ponderous monster, and crash- 
ing into the wooden side of the Cumberland, opened 
a hole " wide as a church door." The sinking ship 
went down with her flag flying and her guns booming 
to the last ! 

Next the Merrimac attacked the Congress, whose 
captain and three-fourths of her crew were killed or 
wounded. Hot shot were used, which soon set the 
Congress in a blaze. Then the ironclad, as if she had 
done enough for one day, went grimly back to Norfolk, 
intending to continue her destruction the next day. 

Everywhere in that region is alarm. The shores 
are thronged with anxious thousands. The city of 
Washington is almost in a panic. The grim mon- 
ster may steam up here on the next day, and hurl 
its exploding shells into the Capitol or the White 
House. Philadelphia, Baltimore, and all the seacoast 
cities of the country are exposed to destruction. What 
is to be done 1 Can the danger be averted } 

334. Timely Arrival of the Monitor. — That very night, 
as if by a special providence, the Monitor arrived 
from New York! Early next morning, when the 
naval Goliath of yesterday came out in his iron 



394 '^^^ Story of American History. 

armor, victorious and confident, a young David stood 
up to defy him ! 

A strange craft indeed was the Monitor. Her rail 
was but little above the water, and nothing was to be 
seen on her deck but a kind of round iron box in the 
middle, a pilot house forward, and a small smokestack 
aft. At a mile's distance she might be taken for a 
raft. Indeed, the Confederates well described her when 

they called her 
a "Yankee 
cheese-box on a 
raft." 

335. Famous 
Battle between 
the Monitor and 
The Famous Contest between the Monitor the Merrimac. 

AND THE MeRRIMAC. t, r- 

It was a Sun- 
day morning, and the sun rose in a cloudless sky. 
The batteries on both sides of the bay were crowded 
with men waiting for the coming contest. At the first 
sign of life on board the Merrimac, the Monitor began 
her preparations for the battle. 

Slowly the Confederate ram came down the bay. 
She opened fire on the Minnesota, which was still 
aground. The frigate responded with a mighty 
broadside, but the cannon balls rattled off the iron 




Our Navy in the War for the Union. 395 

flanks of the huge ram Hke so many peas. Clearly 
everything depended upon the little Monitor. 

The battle now began, and the huge shells and 
heavy shot crashed like loudest thunder. It was a 
strange, an awful battle. At times the two vessels 
were in actual contact. The dense smoke, the deafen- 
ing roar of explosions, the shouts of officers' orders, 
the crews often hurled off their feet by the terrific 
blows smiting the iron armor — all made it beyond 
description fearfully sublime. The Merrimac's plates 
were split and torn. One shot, entering her port, did 
terrible havoc. 

Just as Lieutenant Worden of the Monitor was 
looking through the slit in the turret to take aim, a 
shell struck outside and filled his face and eyes with 
powder and iron splinters! He was insensible for 
some time. 

When he came to himself, his first question was, 
" Have I saved the Minnesota } " 

" Yes," was the reply, " and whipped the Merrimac." 

" Then I don't care w^hat becomes of me," he answered. 

After more than three hours of this frightful com- 
bat, the humbled Merrimac steamed back to Norfolk, 
the victorious little Monitor giving a series of fare- 
well shots as she sailed away. 

Thus ended this marvelous battle, the first in the 



396 The Story of American History, 

world's history between ironclad vessels. All Wash- 
ington retired to sleep that night with a sense of 
relief, for it seemed as if the nation had been saved. 

The brave Worden shortly after the famous battle 
went to Washington. President Lincoln was at a 
cabinet meeting w^hen he heard of the lieutenant's 
arrival. He rose hastily and said, " Gentlemen, I 
must go to that fellow." 

When Lincoln entered his room, Worden was lying 
on a sofa with his eyes and head heavily bandaged. 

" Mr. President," said he, " you do me great honor 
by this visit." 

" Sir," said Mr. Lincoln, with tears in his eyes, " I 
am the one who is honored by this interview." 

336. Confederate Privateers attack Union Merchantmen. — 
When the North began blockading the Southern 
ports, the South of course used all its energies to 
break the blockade by aiding ships to pass in or out, 
and also to destroy our commerce wherever it might 
be found. 

The first craft that went out on this errand of de- 
struction was an ocean steamer then at New Orleans. 
It had been speedily altered into a warship and named 
the Sumter. She slipped through the blockade in 
June, 1 86 1, and did a lively business capturing and 
burning our merchantmen. 



Our Navy in the War for the Union. 397 

Then the South, as it had no navy of its own, had 
to seek aid abroad. England seemed to be very will- 
ing that her shipbuilders should furnish ships for 
the use of the Confederacy in seizing and destroying 
Union vessels. 

The first of the cruisers secretly built in a British 
shipyard to destroy our commerce was the Florida. 
She burned or sank over forty vessels before she was 
captured. 

337. The Famous Alabama makes Sad Havoc. — The 
Alabama was the most famous of the Confederate 
cruisers. She was built under false pretenses and 
with a false name, in an English port, of English 
material, armed with English cannon, and manned 
by English sailors. 

The Alabama, once fairly at sea under Captain 
Semmes, skillfully avoided our men-of-war sent to 
capture her, and continued in her two years' cruise 
till she had burned or captured sixty-seven of our 
merchant ships. 

338. The Alabama destroyed by the Kearsarge. — At last 
the Alabama went into the harbor of Cherbourg, in 
France. Captain Winslow^ of the United States war- 
ship Kearsarge, then searching for her, heard of this 
and at once challenged her, and then waited outside. 
On the nineteenth day of June, 1864, the Alabama 



398 The Story of American History. 

was compelled by law to leave the port. The bat- 
tle began, and was watched by thousands from the 
shores. 

The Kearsarge swept around in great circles, com- 
pelling the Alabama, about half a mile distant, to do 
the same. The men on the Alabama fired fast and 
wild. Their shots flew over, or fell short; but the 
Kearsarge fired carefully and with true aim. Nearer 
drew the Kearsarge, circling still. Its two eleven- 
inch guns made frightful havoc, tearing great rents 
in the Alabama's sides. She was sinking, and started 
for the shore. Winslow now steamed in front and 
headed her off. Then down came the Confederate 
flag. 

Soon the far-famed and dreaded cruiser sank to her 
watery grave. The names Winslow and Kearsarge 
long rang through this country with plaudits of 
enthusiastic praise. 

" I would rather have fought that fight," said brave 
old Admiral Farragut, " than any ever fought on the 
ocean." 

339. England pays for the Damage done by the Alabama. 
— After the war England refused for years to make 
compensation for the damage the Alabama had done 
to our commerce. But seeing that the same course 
might some day injure herself, and sensible of the 



Our Navy in the War for the Union, 399 

injustice, she at last consented to make amends. In 
1872 a Board of Arbitrators met at Geneva, and 
agreeably to its decision "John Bull" promptly paid 
$15,500,000 to "Uncle Sam" to distribute among 
those who had suffered by the depredations. 

340. Preparations for the Capture of Mobile. — In the 
summer of 1864 a prominent Southern port. Mobile, 
was yet uncaptured. Its defenses were strong. Two 
splendid forts stood sentry at the gateway. Long 
lines of piles narrowed the channel to about three 
hundred feet, and a triple row of torpedoes threat- 
ened any approach. In the harbor the Confederates 
had a small fleet of gunboats and one tremendous 
ram, the Tennessee. 

Admiral Farragut determined to capture Mobile. 
He had four monitors and fourteen wooden ships. 
All the preparations were made with the utmost care. 
The officers and men of the fleet regarded the admiral 
with staunch loyalty and absolute trust. The attack 
was made early on the morning of August 5. 

341. Farragut's Crowning Victory at Mobile. — The fleet 
passing through the channel, rained shot and shell so 
furiously upon the forts that the Confederates could 
not well serve their guns. But our finest ironclad, 
the Tecumseh, was struck by a torpedo, and she sank 
with over a hundred of her brave men ! 



400 The Story of America7t History. 

Her captain, the gallant Craven, was at the time in 
the pilot-house with the pilot. As the huge ironclad 
lurched heavily over and began to sink, both rushed 
to the narrow door, but there was only room for one 
to pass at a time. Craven stepped to one side, say 
ing, " After you, pilot." The pilot leaped to a place 
of safety, but the noble captain went to the bottom 
in his iron coffin. 

The fleet now fought a desperate battle with the 
Confederate ironclads. The . armored vessels were 
soon sunk or scattered. The Tennessee tried to 
ram our ships, but with little success. Then our iron- 
clads gathered around our " wooden walls," steamed 
straight for the ram, and there was fought one of the 
most desperate naval fights of the war. 

Sharpshooters fired into the ram's ports, our ships 
successively poured in a terrific fire, and hammered at 
close range with huge solid shot and fifteen-inch bolts 
of iron, till the white flag went up, and once more the 
stars and stripes waved triumphantly over the harbor 
of Mobile. 

Thus ended the battle of Mobile Bay, — one of the 
most brilliant naval contests of modern times, — Far- 
ragut's crowning victory. Three hours elapsed from 
the time the first gun was fired until the great ram 
hauled down the Confederate flag. 



Our Navy iji the War for the Union. 401 



The port of Mobile was thenceforward closed 
against blockade runners, and the last channel of 
communication between the Confederacy and the 
outside world was cut off. 

342. Farragut in the Rigging during the Battle. — 
During the battle Farragut stood in the main rig- 
ging ; but as the smoke increased ^ ^ 
he gradually climbed higher, un- 
til he was close by the 
maintop. The shots 
were flying thick and 
fast. There was great 
danger that he would 
lose his footing, and so 
the captain sent aloft one 
of the men with a rope 
who lashed him to the 
rigging so that he might 
not fall if wounded. /., , -^f- 

When Farragut saw 

.IT r .1 FARRAGL i LASHED TO THE RiGGING. 

the danger from the ap- 
proaching Tennessee, as he stood tied to the rigging, 
he said to his signal ofHcer, who was lashed to the 
other mast: — 

'' Can you signal, ' For Heaven's sake '.? " 
" I can signal anything," replied Kinney. 




402 The Story of American History, 

" Well, signal to all the fleet, ' For Heaven's sake, 
go for the ram ! ' " 

The fact that the admiral was fastened to the main 
rigging during the greatest sea fight perhaps in our 
history gave him a unique reputation throughout the 
country. Farragut was amused and amazed at the 
notoriety of the incident. 

When a picture of the scene in one of the illus- 
trated papers came to hand a few days after the 
battle, the admiral said to one of his captains in con- 
versation, " How curiously some trifling incident 
catches the popular fancy! My being in the main 
rigging was a mere incident, owing to the fact that 
I was driven aloft by the smoke. The lashing was 
the result of your own fears for my safety." 

343. Gushing plans to destroy the Ironclad Albemarle. 
— One of the large sounds, or inland gulfs, on the 
coast of North Carolina was the scene of a great deal 
of blockade running during the war. The place 
needed constant watching by our ships. 

But the chief cause of anxiety was a monster iron- 
clad, the Albemarle, that the Confederates had built 
up the Roanoke River. She had sunk or disabled 
several Union gunboats. She had gone up the river 
to refit. The entrance to the sound was so shallow 
that none of our large warships could pass in. 



Our Navy in the War for the Union. 403 

Could anything be done to check the Albemarle? 
Lieutenant Gushing, only twenty-one, but a most 
daring naval officer, said, " Yes, there could ! " His 
plan was to steal carefully up by night, seize the huge 
ironclad and bring it away, if possible, or else blow 
it up. The river was guarded on both banks, and the 
ram itself was watched by special sentries. No matter 
for that ; he would go. He obtained a noiseless steam 
launch, and rigged a torpedo on the end of a long 
spar, turning on a hinge at its side. The crew of 
the launch consisted of fifteen men, with Gushing in 
command. 

344. Gushing' s Plan Successful; Destruction of the Albe- 
marle. — One dark rainy night Gushing steamed in his 
little torpedo boat up the river. They passed all the 
river guards undiscovered. A camp-fire on the bank 
near the ironclad showed to him, as he stood in the 
bow of his boat, the dark outlines of the monster. 
He steamed on softly. Just then a dog barked! 
Then guards sprang up and fired. The big bell on 
the ram clanged its alarm, lights flashed on the water 
and shots hissed all around the launch. 

The brave young officer saw that the ram was sur- 
rounded by a large raft of huge logs. Instantly his 
resolution was formed. He steamed off some dis- 
tance to get a long run, then turned and rushed for the 



404 



The Story of American History, 



Albemarle. Shot whistled around him. On came his 
little craft, bumped upon the logs, crashed over them, 
and pushed up under the huge ram. Gushing now 
lowered his torpedo spar, calmly guided it into its 

place, pulled the fatal 
cord — crash ! a roar of 
thunder ! — and all was 
over. The great ironclad 
was a terror no longer. 

345. Gushing reaches .the 
Fleet in Safety. — Each 
man had to save himself 
as best he might. Gush- 
ing leaped into the water. 
After about an hour's 
swimming he reached the 
shore and fell exhausted 
upon the bank. He crept 
into a swamp for some 
distance, tearing his feet 
and hands with briers 
and oyster shells. 
Next day he met an old negro whom he thought 
he could trust. The negro was frightened at Gush- 
ing's wild appearance and tremblingly asked who 
he was. 




CushIxN'g's Brilliant Exploit. 



Our Navy in the War for the Union, 405 

" I am a Yankee," replied Gushing, " and I am one 
of the men who blew up the Albemarle." 

" My golly, massa ! " said the negro ; " dey kill you 
if dey catch you ; you dead gone, sure ! " 

Gushing gave the negro all the money he had to 
go into the town and learn the news. 

After a time the negro came back, and, to Gushing's 
joy, reported the Albemarle sunk. At last the in- 
trepid officer found a boat and paddled for eight hours 
until he reached the Union squadron. After hail- 
ing one of the vessels, he fell into the bottom of the 
boat, utterly exhausted by hunger, .cold, fatigue, and 
excitement. 

Lieutenant Gushing, to whose intrepidity and skill 
the country was indebted for this and many other 
bold exploits, was engaged in thirty-five naval combats 
during the war. What a record for a young man of 
twenty-three! He died at thirty-two, the youngest 
officer of his rank in the United States Navy. One 
of our finest torpedo boats, which did good service 
during the Spanish-American war, is well named 
" The Gushing." 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE WAR WITH SPAIN IN 1898. 

346. The Downfall of Spain on this Continent. — For 
half a century or more after the time of Columbus, 
Spain was the greatest miHtary and poHtical power 
in the world. Her ships and her sailors carried the 
proud banner of Castile to every shore and clime 
then known. 

The vast domain claimed by Spain on this conti- 
nent by right of discovery and exploration comprised 
the fertile islands of the West Indies, the greater 
portion of Central and South America, and all that 
part of our own country west of the Mississippi. In 
territory, in wealth, in power, the sovereignty of Spain 
became the mightiest in the world. 

How are the mighty fallen ! The once powerful 
empire has crumbled into dust. The year 1898 saw 
its overthrow on this side of the Atlantic and in the 
Philippines. 

347. Spain's Cruel Policy towards her Colonies. — For the 
most part Spain ruled her colonies with shocking 
oppression. Her policy was to extort all possible 

406 



The War with Spam in 1898. 407 

gain from them to her own selfish profit. She 
retained to the last the barbarous methods of less 
civilized centuries. Finally, after long years of op- 
pression, the South American colonies began to cut 
loose from her tyrannical sway. 

In a few years Spain was stripped of all her posses- 
sions in America, excepting only her islands in the 
West Indies. 

348. Cuba rebels against Spanish Oppression. — One 
would naturally suppose that these disastrous losses 
would have taught Spain to govern her only remain- 
ing American colonies, Cuba and Porto Rico, with 
more wisdom. But not so; she kept right on as 
before, growing worse, if possible, still clinging to the 
old policy of cruel oppression and merciless extortion. 

Some thirty years ago a rebellion began in Cuba 
which lasted ten years. In vain Spain spent milHons 
of money and sent thousands of soldiers to sub- 
due it. Hundreds of Cubans were cast into prison to 
die of fever and starvation, and their property was 
confiscated. 

349. Cuba again rebels against Spain in 1895. — In 1895 
the long-suffering Cubans rose in rebellion again. 
Their army was larger, better furnished, and they 
gained possession of a much more extensive portion 
of the island. 



4o8 The Story of American History. 

Now Spain became really alarmed. She sent to 
Cuba a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers. They 
melted away, mostly from sickness and mismanage- 
ment, like frost in the morning sun. It was all in 
vain ; for it was now plain that Spain could never con- 
quer the Cubans, and just as evident that the Cubans 
unaided could never win their independence. 

The war had already been barbarous enough, when 
the Spanish General Weyler set in operation his in- 
human concentration plan. This meant the gathering 
up in the country districts of thousands of helpless 
old men, women, and children, and driving them to 
the towns and forts, where they were shut up like 
cattle in large enclosures, surrounded by a deep ditch 
and a barbed wire fence. 

Along the line of the fence were . frequent guard- 
houses, where soldiers with loaded guns prevented 
escape. The poor outcasts were crowded into 
wretched palm-leaf huts, with foul water and scanty 
food. It is said that in the island about four hun- 
dred thousand helpless people were herded in this 
way. They died by thousands. 

350. The Barbarities in Cuba excite Great Indignation in 
this Country. — Now, all these horrors in Cuba aroused 
a great deal of indignation in this country and excited 
profound sympathy for the sufferers. Shiploads of 



The War with Spain in 1898. 409 

provisions were sent by the Red Cross and other 
societies to reheve the starving thousands. 

The feeUng throughout this country at last came 
to be intense. For years and years past our people 
had watched the long struggle with the keenest in- 
terest. For years our presidents had protested to 
Spain against the useless warfare. 

Now, when the real state of affairs in Cuba in 1897 
became known, our government sent word to Spain 
that this slow starvation of helpless men, women, and 
children was not war, but savage barbarity, and must 
be stopped. In reply, Spain asked for some delay 
and promised milder measures. 

351. The Battleship Maine blown up in Havana Harbor. — 
In order to protect American interests in Cuba, the 
battleship Maine was sent to Havana in January, 1898. 

A calamity now occurred that shocked the world. 
On the evening of February 1 5 this magnificent ship, 
while at anchor in the harbor of Havana, was de- 
stroyed by an explosion. Two officers and two 
hundred and sixty-four American sailors were hurled 
to instant death! 

The awful disaster sent a thrill of horror and indig- 
nation through our country. A court of inquiry was 
instantly appointed by President McKinley to investi- 
gate the matter and ascertain the cause. Meanwhile 



4IO The Story of American History. 

the country waited for forty days, with surprising 
patience, for the report, which came during the last 
of March, stating that the Maine had been blown up 
from the outside by the explosion of a submarine 
mine. Subsequent evidence before the Senate com- 
mittee showed that the mine had been exploded by 
men who wore the uniform of Spain. 

352. War declared against Spain. — Public feeling in 
our country grew more intense every hour. The 
President continued to do his utmost to avert war 
by peaceful and diplomatic methods. Thinking 
people knew well enough that such efforts would 
be in vain. It tvas evident that Spain would never 
grant independence to Cuba. It was also evident 
that the American people (from the moment they 
heard of the blowing up of the Maine) had made 
up their minds that the only real solution of the prob- 
lem was -to put an end forever to Spanish rule on this 
side of the Atlantic. This of course meant war. 

Congress took the responsibility and declared war 
against Spain on April 21, 1898. 

353. Dewey acts promptly and sails for Manila from Hong 
Kong. — The first step of our war with Spain was to 
send Commodore Sampson with a fleet to blockade 
the large seaports of Cuba. All eyes were turned to 
this island; for every one expected the war to begin 



The War with Spain in 1898. 



411 



there ; but instantly the scene of action was shifted to 
the other side of the globe. 

The first day of May saw one of the greatest naval 
victories in the history of the world. Our govern- 
ment had telegraphed orders to Commodore George 
Dewey, then at Hong Kong, 
China, in command of our 
Asiatic squadron, to sail 
at once to the Philippine 
Islands and "capture or 
destroy " the Spanish ships. 

Dewey had taken part in 
important naval battles in 
our Civil War, and was an 
experienced and skillful offi- 
cer. In anticipation of war, 
his fleet was ready for action on an hour's notice. 

After his instructions arrived from Washington, 
Dewey promptly sailed for Manila with six warships 
and two tenders. He delayed, outside the harbor till 
the moon had set, and then steamed silently through 
the three-mile-wide channel. He was entering in the 
dark a bay he had never seen. He knew it was 
planted with torpedoes, and that he was going to 
attack a Spanish fleet of ten ships, besides large 
forts with heavy guns. 




Admiral Dlwkv 



412 The Story of Americmt History, 

A wonderful task ! but Dewey was a wonderful 
man. He understood his business. He had been 
trained under the eye of the great Admiral Farragut 
and had fought long and hard in the war for the Union. 

354. The Remarkable Naval Victory at Manila. — 
Dewey's Heet arrived before sunrise in front of the 
forts and the line of Spanish ships. The battle at 
once began. Our vessels kept moving on the curve 
of a long ellipse or flattened circle, and every time 
each came around it poured a series of rapid and 
accurate shots directly into the enemy. They an- 
swered furiously, but not deliberately. Round and 
round wheeled our ships in a slow and deadly circle. 
Our men could see the walls of the forts crumbling, 
some ships all ablaze, and others shattered and 
sinking. 

After two hours of these tremendous circuits 
Dewey stopped firing and moved his ships about 
three miles out of range to rest his men, give them 
breakfast, and look after his ammunition. The men, 
in fine spirits, ate their morning meal, and rested. 
It was a stoker on the flagship Olympia who said 
that below " the temperature is nearly up to two hun- 
dred degrees, and so hot that our hair is singed." 

Before noon Dewey returned, circled nearer still, 
and fought even more fiercely. In an hour and a half 



The War with Spam in 1898. 413 

more the work was finished. One ship was riddled, 
then reeled and sank; then another; one was broken 
midway and went down ; now one was in flames, then 




Battle of Manila. 

a second, and so on till the entire Spanish fleet, besides 
gunboats and transports, were sunk or burned up or 
shot to pieces ! 

How did our ships stand the contest ? Only two 
or three were hit at all, and none seriously injured. 



4 1 4 The Story of A mericaii History. 

Our six had destroyed thirteen Spanish vessels and 
silenced their forts. The Spaniards had lost six hun- 
dred and thirty-four men, killed and wounded. We had 
only one man killed and seven slightly wounded. 

355. The Nation* s Grateful Appreciation of Dewey's Vic- 
tory. — Thus was fought, on May Day, 1898, at Manila, 
perhaps the most surprising naval conflict the world 
had ever seen. In three and a quarter hours the naval 
power of Spain went down in the blue waters of the 
bay, and the splendid fame of George Dewey echoed 
round the globe. Congress gave him a vote of thanks 
and a gold medal; and he was made Admiral, the 
highest officer in the American navy. 

Many years ago Admiral Farragut said to the 
father of the hero of Manila, " Doctor Dewey, your 
son George is a worthy and brave officer. He has 
an honorable record, and some day he will make 
his mark." 

Never before in the history of our country was there 
projected a series of patriotic demonstrations grander 
in their purpose or finer in their execution than those 
which greeted Admiral Dewey on his return to this 
country, in the fall of 1899, ^^^m the scene of his 
famous victory. 

When Dewey sank the Spanish fleet in Manila 
Bay, he opened a new era in the history of our 



The War with Spain in 1898. 415 

country. From that day the United States received 
more distinct recognition among the nations respon- 
sible for the poHtical affairs of the world. 

356. Preparations to meet the Spanish Fleet. — Now let 
us return to the scene of war in our own country. 
On the last day of April the Spanish fleet, under 
Admiral Cervera, left the Cape Verde Islands, sail- 
ing west; there were four armed cruisers and three 
torpedo-boat destroyers; ail good new ships and in 
prime condition. The alarming question was, Where 
will they strike.? The good people of our great 
eastern cities began to imagine what would happen 
if these powerful warships should come sailing into 
our harbors. 

Every effort was promptly and vigorously made to 
defend exposed points with forts and torpedoes. 
Events proved that it was needless. No ship of that 
Spanish fleet came within five hundred miles of any 
American city. Yet it was evident that Cervera's 
fleet must be captured or destroyed before our coast 
could be safe, or military operations could be prudently 
begun in Cuba. 

Extraordinary efforts were made to ascertain the 
exact location of the hostile squadron. 

Finally it was found that it had slipped on May 
19 into the bay of Santiago. Our fleet at once 



4i6 



The Story of American History. 



gathered around to blockade the entrance, to make 
it impossible for any vessel to pass in, and to 
attack Cervera's ships should they attempt to come 
out. Among our blockaders were the splendid ships 
New York, Massachusetts, Brooklyn, Texas, Iowa, 
Indiana, and the Oregon that had sailed around Cape 

Horn from San 
Francisco, four- 
teen thousand 
miles in sixty- 
seven days. 

357. Hobson's 
Brilliant Exploit. 
— Admiral 
Sampson did 
not deem it ad- 
visable to steam 
in and attack 
Cervera, as the 
channel was 
thickly planted with mines. So our semicircle of ships 
watched and waited. At night our strong search-lights 
blazed into the mouth of the harbor and lighted it with 
a fiery glare. 

If the narrow neck of the harbor could only be 
somehow obstructed, so that Cervera's ships would 




Rescue of Hobson by the Spanish Admiral. 



The War with Spain in 1898. 4 1 7 

either be completely " bottled up," or would have to 
creep out to sea by daylight, the naval power of Spain 
would be crippled. So thought Admiral Sampson, 
and he selected Lieutenant Hobson for this daring 
deed. It meant going right into the midst of the 
enemy's batteries and torpedoes. 

A large steamer, the Merrimac, was taken and 
loaded down with coal ; and a crew of seven men 
were selected to go with Hobson. Strange fascina- 
tion of mingled courage and patriotism ! Hundreds 
of sailors begged the chance to go ! 

It was all carefully planned ; and about two hours 
before dawn, on June 3, they started. As they drew 
near, the Spanish made the water boil and hiss with 
their shots. But on they went to the chosen spot, 
balls and shells striking all about, howling and 
shrieking in their ears and tearing their ship. 

Coolly but quickly they sank the Merrimac, sprang 
to the raft they had prepared, and were clinging to 
it when the firing ceased and a little steam launch 
came up with Cervera in it! The Spanish admiral 
reached out and helped lift in Hobson and his seven 
comrades ! He took them ashore, praised them for 
their daring, gave them dry clothing, fed them, and 
soon after exchanged them for some Spanish officers 
who had been captured by our men. 



4i8 The Story of American History, 

358. The Army does Brilliant Service at Santiago. — It 
was plain that the Spanish ships would never come 
out until they were driven out. So during the last 
week in June an army of about twenty-five thousand 
men, under General Shafter, landed a few miles east of 
Santiago to cooperate with our fleet in capturing the 
city. Our forces, losing no time, moved on through 
tropical jungles, exposed to the enemy's sharpshoot- 
ing from trees. It was a deadly advance towards log 
forts on the steep heights, impeded by the annoying 
tangle of barbed-wire fences. 

On the first and second days of July our gallant 
troops captured the two forts. El Caney and San 
Juan, which overlooked Santiago, and drove the 
enemy in hot haste into the city. 

359. The Remarkable Naval Victory at Santiago. — Then 
Cervera's hour had come ! On July 3, a beautiful 
Sunday morning, the eyes that for more than a month 
had watched with sleepless vigilance that narrow open- 
ing between the rocks, saw at last the bow of a Span- 
ish warship. It slipped out and turned sharply to 
the west ; then came another, and a third, and so on 
till all six had passed. They at once opened a fierce 
but ill-directed fire upon our fleet. 

The men on our vessels were mustering for Sun- 
day morning inspection when the enemy was seen. 



The War with Spain in 1898, 



419 




" The enemy is coming out ! " was signalled from ship 
to ship, and on each deck rang ouf the command, 
" All hands clear ship for action ! " 

Every man was ready to do his duty. Every ship 
was stripped for action. Instantly our ships were 
after the Spanish squadron, firing as they followed. 
What a sight w^as that ! There was never before one 
like it! Tw^o lines of hostile ships rushing along 
the coast, tearing the ocean to foam, each a volcano 
pouring out smoke, and more than 
a hundred big guns hurling shells 
and shot which strike with awful 
crash upon the iron walls of the 
enemy's ships ! 

On they dashed, mile after mile. 
One of our huge shells fell mid- 
way of the Pluton, w^hich at once 
went down with an awful plunge. 
The Furor, riddled with shot, fled ^^'""^^ ^^^''"^• 
to the shore and broke in pieces on the rocks. 
Furious was the chase for the other four; nearer 
and nearer, till our ships came up. Then the 
Maria Teresa, the flagship, with huge holes torn in 
her, and set on fire by our exploding shells, escaped 
to the beach, a sinking, burning wreck. Next the 
Oquendo, half her men killed, and her sides all split 




420 



The Story of A inericaii History. 



open, also fell helpless on the beach. In forty min- 
utes these four ships had gone to their doom. 

Still beyond was the famous Vizcaya, doing her 
best to escape. But the Brooklyn, Commodore 
Schley's flagship, gained on her and poured shells 
into her, so that with the Oregon now rushing up in 
a burst of speed which astonished all who saw her, 
her race was soon run, and she, too, 
went to her grave on the strand, a 
shattered, blazing hulk. 

Yet one more, the Colon, newest, 

fastest, and best of the squadron, 

was now about four miles ahead; 

but our ships gained steadily upon 

her, and in less than two hours she 

hauled down her flag and ran ashore 

forty-five miles from Santiago. 

360. After the Battle at Santiago. — The sun that shone 

in the morning upon six of Spain's finest ships looked 

down at noon upon a row of half-sunken wrecks along 

the coast. 

At the risk of their lives our men rescued their 
foes from the mangled hulks, the burning decks, and 
the surging water. 

" Don't cheer, boys," cried one gallant captain, 
"the poor fellows are dying." 




Admiral Schley. 



The War with Spain in 1898. 42 1 

Another captain said in his report, " So long as 
the enemy showed his flag, our men fought Hke 
American seamen ; but when the flag came down, 
they were as gentle and tender as American women." 

The Spanish loss, according to their own accounts, 
was three hundred and fifty killed or drowned, and 
about one hundred oflicers and one thousand six 
hundred and seventy-five men prisoners, including 
the brave Admiral Cervera. Their loss in value was 
over twelve million dollars. Upon our side only one 
man was killed, and three were wounded, all on the 
Brooklyn. Not one of our ships was badly injured. 
Evidently the Spanish gunners could not shoot 
straight ! 

So ended this famous naval engagement. Never, 
perhaps, has the world seen two such instances of 
the utter destruction of an enemy's naval force as in 
the battles of Manila and Santiago. 

361. The Campaign in Porto Rico. — The surrender of 
all Cuba soon followed. Then General Miles was 
sent with nine thousand troops to Porto Rico, the 
only remaining island on this side belonging to 
Spain. He landed near Ponce, on the southern 
coast. The city surrendered without a shot and 
welcomed our army. The Spanish troops fled on 
the approach of our soldiers. 



422 The Story of Afnerican History. 

General Miles in a proclamation assured the inhab- 
itants that they should enjoy the rights and immu- 
nities of American citizens. As he moved inwards, 
other cities along his line of march surrendered, and 
the Spanish forces made only occasional resistance to 
our progress. Just before an expected battle news 
of peace came from Washington. All fighting ceased, 
and this fertile island came into our hands with little 
bloodshed. 

362. End of the War. — Meanwhile our government 
was making energetic preparations to send a powerful 
fleet under Commodore Watson across the Atlantic 
and to carry the w^ar to the Spanish coast. We may 
be sure that Spain, and even some of her neighbors, 
did not like the prospect. There had been enough 
of rapid, crushing, and unbroken defeats to satisfy 
even the Castilian point of honor. 

When it became evident that Watson's fleet would 
be ready in a few days to carry the war to the very 
doors of Spain, the representatives of the great 
nations of Europe said things had gone far enough. 
Diplomatic pressure was applied to poor Spain. She 
was politely but firmly told that she must make peace 
at once, and on any terms. 

The French Minister at Washington was author- 
ized by Spain to sign a preliminary document, or 



The War with Spam in 1898. 423 

protocol, embodying in precise language the con- 
ditions on which our government would negotiate 
peace. This document was signed at Washington 
on August 12, and hostilities ceased. 

The formal treaty of peace was signed in Paris 
December 10, 1898. By the terms of this treaty 
Spain agreed to give up its sovereignty in Cuba, to 
cede to the United States Porto Rico, a few small 
West India islands, and one of the Ladrone group ; 
also to cede to this country the Philippines, after 
payment by us of twenty millions of dollars as "reim- 
bursement for insular expenses." 

363. Our Nation's Future. — The immediate results 
of this short-lived Spanish war were full of deep 
meaning to our nation. No one now can safely say 
what the distant outcome will. be. It is certain to 
be far-reaching and momentous. 

Our country has rapidly advanced to its position 
as one of the foremost nations of the world in wealth 
and in power. Let us trust it may also lead in good 
government, in national honor and righteousness. 
Let us earnestly hope that in the long years before us 
our sacred Union shall still be preserved, unbroken, 
— forever one great Union of prosperous and happy 
states. 



APPENDIX 



BOOKS FOR REFERENCE AND COLLATERAL READ- 
ING IN THE STUDY OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

This book is designed to be used before the formal text-book on 
American history is begun in grammar-school grades. It is intended 
also to serve as a convenient basis for more extended work both on 
the part of the teacher and of pupils. Hence the reading of the pre- 
ceding chapters is only one part of the proposed plan. A systematic 
course in supplementary reading should be added. The following plan 
is suggested, but it may be modified, of course, to meet the needs of 
any particular class of pupils. 

Reference Books for Teachers. 

Two books are of special value to teachers. These are Channing and 
Hart's Guide to A77ierican History [Ginn & Company, Publishers, price 
$2.00], and Gordy and Twitchell's Pathfinder iti Ajnerican History 
[Lee & Shepard, Publishers, complete in one volume, $1.20. In separate 
parts, Part I, 60 cents ; Part II, 90 cents]. 

These two works are replete with suggestions, hints and helps on 
collateral study, numerous references, detailed lists of topics, and a 

Note. — The whole subject of reference books on American History is treated thor- 
oughly in Montgomery's Studetifs American History [see " Short List of Books," page 
xxiv in Appendix, and " Authorities Cited," page xxx in Appendix], Montgomery's 
American History [see " Short List of Books," page xxxiii in Appendix], and Fiske's 
History of the United States [see Appendix D, page 518, Appendix E, page 527, and 
Appendix F, page 529]. 

424 



Appendix. 425 

wide range of other subjects which make them indispensable to the 
teacher of American history. 

School Text-Books for Reading and Reference. 

Pupils should have easy access, by means of the school library or 
otherwise, to a few of the formal school text-books on American history. 
In connection with this book Montgomery's Leading Facts of Ameri- 
can History and Fiske's History of the United States are especially 
valuable. The following books are perhaps equally serviceable : Eggles- 
ton's History of the United States j Steele's Bi'ief History of the 
United States [usually known as " Barnes's History "] ; Thomas's 
History of the United States and Alowry's History of the United 
States. These books are useful in reading for additional topics, for 
dates, maps, illustrations, reference tables, and for '• filling in " subjects 
which do not come within the scope of this book. 

Topics for Collateral Reading. 

For ordinary school work the text-books to which we have just referred 
will furnish enough and suitable material for these topics. When, how- 
ever, standard works on history are of easy access, through the school 
or public libraries, it is well even for pupils of the lower grades, to read 
sparingly by topics from such works. These topics should be carefully 
selected by the teacher. They should be brief and call only for a few 
pages of reading. 

In the succeeding pages references have been given only to a very 
few standard works, such as those by Fiske, Parkman, Irving, and 
Mc Master, and such other books as can ordinarily be easily obtained. 

References for Reading. 

Pupils should also have easy reference to books from which topics 
may be read or which may be read sparingly by select passages indi- 
cated by the teacher. Many of these books have been suggested more 
on account of their interesting style than for strict historical accuracy. 



426 The Story of American History. 

Read the designated works not as a whole but only by topics or selec- 
tions. They will do much to awaken and maintain a lively interest in 
American history. 

Outside Readings. 

While the study of this book is in progress it is well for the pupils to 
limit their miscellaneous reading to such books as bear directly upon 
our subject. Under this head we have suggested many productions 
which belong to the " story-book " order. Wholesome books of fiction 
and semi-fiction may certainly do much to stimulate and hold the atten- 
tion of young students of American history. With this topic, as with 
all other topics on collateral reading, the teacher should exercise a care- 
ful supervision. 

For Reading or Recitation. 

The work should be enlivened by reading occasionally, before the 
class or the school, poems or prose selections which bear directly upon 
the general topic under consideration. We have referred only to a very 
few such extracts from good literature. Other selections will readily 
suggest themselves. 

Use of a Topic Book or Notebook. 

The teacher and pupil should appreciate the scope and usefulness 
of a Topic book or Notebook. By this is meant a blank book with 
semi-flexible or board covers, of a convenient size, and of at least 48 
pages. Into this blank book should be written carefully with ink brief 
notes as the several chapters of this book are read or studied. It may 
well be a kind of enlarged diary of the pupil's work. 

Make brief notes of the various books read in whole or by topics ; 
topics not treated in this book but discussed in the class, such as King 
Philip's War, the Mexican War, etc., and references to new books to be 
reserved for future reading and other subjects which will readily suggest 
themselves. 

This notebook should be well illustrated. The basis should be the 
inexpensive photographic copies (sold for about one cent each) of 



Appendix, 427 

famous pictures illustrating important events in American history. 
Catalogues giving the exact titles, cost, and other details are sent to 
applicants, free of expense. 

Portraits, maps, facsimiles of documents and autographs, etc., are 
often easily obtained from book catalogues, guide books, advertising 
pages, and secondhand text-books. 

All this illustrative material should be pasted in the notebook at the 
proper place, neatly and with good judgment, allowing plenty of space 
for margins. Such a compilation is, of course, a matter of slow growth. 
It should be carefully preserved as a pleasant reminder of school days. 

Note.— Think of enriching your notebook with photographic reproductions of 
such works as Stuart's " Washington " ; Faed's " Washington at Trenton " ; TrumbulPs 
"Surrender of Cornwallis" and " Signing the Declaration of Independence"; Benjamin 
West's " Penn's Treaty " ; Leutze's " Washington Crossing the Delaware " ; Vanderlyn's 
"Landing of Columbus"; Johnson's "Old Ironsides" and Overend's "An August 
Morning with Farragut." 



REFERENCE BOOKS AND SUPPLEMENTARY READING 
FOR SUCCESSIVE PERIODS IN AMERICAN HISTORY. 

[Intended for use in connection with the study of this book.] 

Chapter I. Pages 1-9. 

AMERICA IN THE OLD DAYS. 

Topics for Collateral Reading. — The following topics are 
thoroughly discussed in Fiske's Discovery of Amefica: — 

The People of Ancient America, Vol. I, pp. 1-19; Origin of the 
American Indians, Vol. I, p. 19; The Indians of the Pueblos, Vol. I, 
p. 82 ; The Mysterious Mound Builders, Vol. I, p. 140 ; Voyages of the 
Northmen to Vinland, Vol. I, p. 164. 

References for Reading. — For a readable account of the Mound 
Builders and the American Indians, consult Shaler's The Story of Our 
Co7ititient. 



428 The Story of American History. 

Outside Readings. — Starr's American Indians j The Voyages to 
Vinland from the Saga of Eric the Red, Old South Leaflets, No. 32 ; 
Glasscock's Stories of Columbia. 

For Reading or Recitation. — ^\)S.\.\\^fsNorumbega'3Si^ Norse- 
men; Longfellow's Skeleton in Armor. 

Chapter II. Pages 10-30. 

COLUMBUS and THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 

Topics for Collateral Reading. — Topics from Fiske's Dis- 
covery of A7n erica : — 

First Voyage of Columbus, Vol. I, p. 419 ; Last Voyage of Columbus, 
Vol. I, p. 505 ; Vespucius and the " New World," Vol. II, p. 96 ; The 
Cabots and their Voyages, Vol. II, p. i ; Ponce de Leon, Vol. II, p. 486 ; 
Adventures of De Soto, Vol. II, p. 509. 

References for Reading — Read selections from the one-volume 
edition of Irving's Life of Columbus ; Abbott's Life of Columbus 
(Ajax Series); Adams's Columbus (Makers of America); Brooks's True 
Story of Columbus J Adventures of De Soto, Parkman's Pioneers of 
France in the New World, P- i3- 

Outside Readings. — Griffis's Romance of American Discovery; 
Glasscock's Stories of Colujnbia; The Discovery of America, from 
the Life of Columbus, by his son, Ferdinand Columbus, Old South 
Leaflets, No. 29 ; Columbus's Letter to Gabriel Sanchez, describing 
the first voyage. Old South Leaflets, No. 33 ; Americus Vespucius's 
Account of his First Voyage, Old South Leaflets, No. 34 ; Death of 
De Soto, Old South Leaflets, No. 36 ; The Voyages of the Cabots, 
Old South Leaflets, No. 37. 

Chapter III. Pages 31-46. 

sir WALTER RALEIGH AND CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH, 

Topics for Collateral Reading. — For various topics in con- 
nection with Sir Walter Raleigh and Captain John Smith, see the Index 



Appendix. 429 

to Fiske's Old Virginia and her Neighbours. Incidents in the Life of 
Captain John Smith : see John Esten Cooke's Virginia (American 
Commonwealth Series), pp. 22-76. The Story of Pocahontas, Cooke's 
Virginia^ pp. 35-103. 

References for Reading. — Towle's Raleigh, his Voyages and 
Adventures ; Cooke's Stories of the Old Dominion j Eggleston's and 
Seelye's Pocahontas (Ajax Series). 

Outside Readings. — Towle's Magellan, or the First Voyage 
Round the World. 

Chapters IV and V. Pages 47-72. 

THE PILGRIMS. 

Topics for Collateral Reading. — Many topics in connection 
with this chapter may be selected from Fiske's The Begitinijigs of New 
England, as. The Separatists, p. 66 ; Why the Pilgrims did not stay 
in Holland, p. 74 ; Voyage of the Mayflower, p. 80 ; The Pilgrims and 
the Indians, p. 83. 

References for Reading. — Griffis's The Pilgrims and their 
Three Homes; Moore's Pilgrims a7id Puritans; Abbott's Captai^i 
Miles Standish (Ajax Series) ; Drake's On Plyjnouth Rock ; Bacon's 
Historic Pilgrifnages in New England. 

Outside Readings. — Jane G. Austin's Standish of Standish, 
Betty Alden, Nameless Noble7nan, and David Alden's Daughter. 

For Reading or Recitation. — Mrs. Hemans's Landing of the Pil- 
grifns; Longfellow's Courtship of Miles Standish ; Bryant's Twenty- 
Second of December ; Holmes's The Pilgrim's Vision. 

Chapter VI. Pages 73-87. 

THE INDIANS. 

Topics for Collateral Reading. — For special topics about the 
Indians, see Parkman's Conspiracy of Pontiac, Vol. I, p. i, also the 
Introduction to Parkman's fesuits in North America. 



430 The Story of American History. 

References for Reading. — Brooks's Story of the American 
Indian; 'Dr2ik&'s Indiatt History for Young Folks ; Si^rv's American 
Indians J Shaler's The Story of Our Continent. 

For Reading or Recitation. — Longfellow's Hiawatha. 

Chapter VII. Pages 88-105. 

THE DUTCH IN NEW YORK ; THE QUAKERS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 

Topics for Collateral Reading. — Henry Hudson : his voyages, 
voyage upon the Great River, his tragic fate, see Fiske's The Dutch 
and Quaker Colonies in America, Vol. I, pp. 83-95. William Penn : 
see the Index to Fiske's The Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America. 

References for Reading. — The Great Peace Maker (Penn) 
(Daring Deed Series) ; Abbott's Peter Stuyvesant (Ajax Series). 

Outside Readings. — Butterworth's Wajnpum Belt (Penn); Irv- 
ing's Knickerbocker's History of New York (humorous and satirical 
account of the Dutch Colony of New Netherland) ; Paulding's The 
Dutch^nan's Fireside (Colonial Life in New York). 

Chapter VIII. Pages 106-125. 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS. 

Topics for Collateral Reading. — For a great variety of topics 
in connection with the French and Indian Wars and the overthrow of 
New France, the student will find the books of Parkman a vast store- 
house of intensely fascinating reading matter. See the index to the 
various volumes. For example, read La Salle's Descent of the Missis- 
sippi, Parkman's La Salle, pp. 275-288 ; Braddock's March and Defeat ; 
Parkman's Mojitcabn and Wolfe, Vol. I, p. 204, and The Heights of 
Abraham, Vol. II, p. 259-297. 

References for Reading. — Johnson's Old Fre7ich IVar; Drake's 
Border Wars of New England. 

Outside Readings. — Abbott's Life of King Philip (Ajax Series) ; 
Henty's With Wolfe iii Canada; Cooper's Last of the Mohicans 
(story of Seven Years' War) ; James Otis's At the Siege of Quebec. 



Appendix, 43 1 



Chapter IX. Pages 126-138. 

EVERYDAY LIFE IN COLONIAL TIMES. 

Topics for Collateral Readixg. — The great storehouse of facts 
regarding the social and domestic life of the American people is 
McM aster's History of the People of the United States (5 vols, now 
ready). For topics see detailed index of each volume. Consult 
especially Vol. II, pp. 538-582, on "Town and Country Life in 
1800." This work is somewhat voluminous for elementary work. 

References for Reading. — Earle's Home Life in Colonial Days j 
Earle's Child Life in Colonial Days, Tavern and Stage Coach in 
Colonial Days j Earle's Sabbath in Puritan New England; Earle's 
Ctistoms and Fashions of Old Neiv England; Earle's Colonial Dames 
a7id Goodivives ; Coffin's Old Titnes in the Colonies ; Coffin's Build- 
ing the Nation ; Scudder's Men a?td Manners in America 100 years 
Ago; Wharton's Through Colonial Doorways ; Wharton's Colonial 
Days and Dames ; Fisher's Men, Women, ajid Manners in Colonial 
Times; Markham's Colonial Days; Hawthorne's Grandfather's Chair. 

Chapters X-XVIII. Pages 139-295. 

the american revolution. 

Topics for Collateral Reading. — For a series of topics on 
the American Revolution, to be read in connection with these nine 
chapters, consult the index to Fiske's American Revolution (2 vols.). 

References for Reading. — For the Revolution as a whole the two 
best works for supplementary reading in schools are perhaps Lodge's 
Story of the Revolution and Fiske's War of Indepetidence (Riverside 
Literature Series). Lossing's Field Book of the Revolutio7i is volu- 
minous but interesting, and fully illustrated. 

Among the scores of excellent works which may be consulted, the 
following may be safely recommended : Coffin's Stojy of Liberty ; 
Fiske-Irving's Washington and his Country ; Abbot's Blue fackets 
of '/dy Bacon's Historic Pilgrimages in New England; C. H. Wood- 



432 The Story of American History. 

man's Boys and Girls of the Revolution; Brooks's Century Book of 
the American Revolution j Drake's Btirgoy tie's Invasion of 1777 j 
Seawell's Paid f ones j Abbott's Paul f ones (Ajax Series); Brooks's 
Story of the American Sailor j Frost's Swatnp Fox (Marion). 

Outside Reading. — There are numerous books on the war of the 
Revolution suitable for outside reading. For the school grades for 
which this book is intended, the following books are interesting and for 
the most part instructive : Watson's Noble Deeds of our fathers j 
Watson's Tea Party and Other Stories ; Butterworth's Pat?'iot School- 
7naster (Story of the Minute Men and Sons of Liberty) ; Otis's Signal 
Boys of 1775 J Tomlinson's Stories of the American Revolutioti (sev- 
eral series) ; Stoddard's Red Patriot j Thompson's The Rangers or the 
Tory's Daughter ; Thompson's Green Moimtain Boys j Otis's Boys of 
Fort Schuyler J Patriot Boy (Washington) (Famous Boy Series); Father 
of his Country (Washington) (Daring Deed Series) ; Abbott's Life of 
Washington (Ajax Series) ; Scudder's George Washingtofi; Brooks's 
True Story of George Washington j Miss Hoppens's A Great Treasofi 
(Arnold and Andre) ; Cooper's Last of the Mohicans (last French or 
Seven Years' War) ; Cooper's Lionel Lincoln (Boston at time of Bun- 
ker Hill) ; Cooper's Pilot (Paul Jones). 

These six novels by William Gilmore Simms furnish under the guise 
of fiction a connected and most readable account of the Revolution in 
the South from the fall of Charleston to 1782 : The Partisan, Melli- 
chatnpe^ The Scout, Katherine Walton, The Foragers, The Eutaws. 

See also Kennedy's Horse Shoe Robinson (South Carolina in the Revo- 
lution); Churchill's Richard Carvel (VdiXiX Jones) ; Guerber's Story of the 
Thirteen Colonies; Guerber's Story of the Great Republic ; Eggleston's 
First Book in Americati History ; Johonnot's Stories of our Country ; 
Mowry's First Steps in the History of our Country ; Montgomery's 
Beginner's American History. 

For Reading or Recitation. — Longfellow's Paul Revere' s Ride; 
Emerson's Concord Hyjnn; Holmes's Grandmother's Story of the 
Battle of Bunker Hill; Bryant's Song of Marion's Men; Pierpont's 
General Warren's Address ; Finch's Nathan Hale; Bryant's Nine- 
teenth of April ; Simms's Ballad of King's Mountain. 



Appendix. 433 

Chapter XIX. Pages 296-310. 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

Topics for Collateral Reading. — For topics to be read in con- 
nection with the life and career of FrankHn, see the index to Fiske's 
The Ainerican Revolution, Fiske's The Critical Period of American 
History (i 783-1 789), and Morse's Bejijamin Franklin (American 
Statesmen Series). 

ReferExXCEs for Reading.— Frankhn's Autobiography s\vQVL\di be 
read before all other books on Franklin. Read also Printer Boy 
(Franklin) (Famous Boy Series) ; Poor Richard's Story (Franklin) 
(Daring Deed Series); Abbott's Benjamin Franklin (Ajax Series) 
and Parton's Life of Franklin. 

Outside Readings. — Butterworth's True to his Home (FrankHn); 
Brooks's True Story of Benjamin Franklin. 

Chapter XX. Pages 311-322. 
everyday life one hundred years ago. 
This chapter is supplementary to Chapter IX on " Everyday Life in 
Colonial Times." The same works for collateral reading in connection 
with that chapter maybe equally serviceable for supplementary work for 
this chapter. Refer especially to the works of McMaster, Alice Morse 
Earle, Scudder, C. C. Coffin, Fisher, and Wharton. 



Chapter XXI. Pages ^22^-^2,^. 

OUR NAVY IN THE WAR OF 1812. 

Topics for Collateral Reading. — From this time to the present 
day McMaster's History of the People of the United States is a store- 
house of important and interesting topics. See especially the chapter 
on "State of the People in 1812," Chapter III, p. 459, and various 
chapters in Vol. IV. Consult the detailed index to the several vol- 
ymes for quick reference to the desired topics. 



434 ^^^^ Story of American History. 

References for Reading. — Abbot's Blue Jackets of 1812; 
Brooks's Story of the American Sailor; Johnson's IVar of 1812; 
Lossing's History of the War of 181 2 j Roosevelt's N'aval War of 
181 2 ; Lossing's Story of the United States Navy (for boys). 

Outside Readings. — Barnes's Hero of Lake Erie (Commodore 
Perry) ; Seawell's Midshipman Paulding (Commodore Paulding) ,• 
Se2iV^t[Vs Little Jarvis (cruises of the Constellation) ; Seawell's Z>^<;^/«r 
and So7ners ; George Cary Eggleston's three stories : Signal Boys, Cap- 
tain Sam, and Big Brother. 

For Reading or Recitation. — Holmes's Old Ironsides ; Key's 
The Star-Spangled Banner. 

Chapter XXII. Pages 339-352. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF THE PACIFIC. COAST. 

Topics for Collateral Reading. — For special topics in connec- 
tion with the settlement of the Pacific coast consult Barrows's Oregon 
and Royce's Calif or?iia (both volumes in the American Commonwealth's 
Series). 

References for Reading. — Irving's Astoria and Dana's Two 
Years before the Mast were written many years ago, but present 
vivid pen-pictures of the early days on the Pacific coast. 

Chapters XXIII-XXV. Pages 353-405. 
the war for the union. 

Topics for Collateral Reading. — The literature of the Civil 
War is so voluminous that the utmost care must be used in the selection 
of even the best books for collateral reading. 

For school purposes two of the best briefer books for supplementary 
use are Champlin's Young Folks' History of the War for the Union 
and Dodge's Bird's-Eye View of the Civil War. Consult 2X^0 N'ichoTs 
Story of the Great March (Sherman) ; Swinton's Twelve Decisive 
Battles of the War; Drake's Battle of Gettysburg; Morse's Abraham 
Lincoln, 2 vols. (American Statesmen Series). 



Appendix. 435 

References for Reading. — Abbot's Battlefields of '61 ; Abbot's 
Blue Jackets of ''61 ; Soley's Sailor Boys of '61 ; Brooks's True Story 
of Abraham Lincoln; Brooks's True Story of General Grant ; 
Brooks's Story of the American Soldier j Coffin's Days and Nights 
071 the Battlefield ; Coffin's Drumbeat of the Nation j Coffin's Redeem- 
ing the Republic; Coffin's Marching to Victory j Coffin's Freedom 
Tritimphant; Cooke's Stonewall Jackson j Cooke's Robert E. Lee. 

Outside Readings. — Blaisdell's Stories of the Civil War; Goss's 
Jed, a Boys Adventures in the Ar?ny; Goss's To7n Clijton ; Keiffer's 
Recollectio7is of a Df'ummer Boy ; Barnes's Midshipinan Farragict; 
Henty's With Lee in Virgifiia; Page's Two Little Confederates. 

For Reading and Recitation. — Read's Sheridan's Ride; Whit- 
tier's Barbara Frietchie ; Howe's Battle Hymn of the Republic; 
Bryant's Our Country's Call ; Bret Harte's/^/zw Burns at Gettysbmg; 
Whitman's O Captaifi I My Captain ! (Death of Lincoln) ; Finch's 
Blue and the Gray ; Miss Preston's Gotie Forward (Death of General 
Lee) ; Longfellow's Cumberland ; Boker's Black Regiment; Byers's 
Sherman's March to the Sea; Bryant's The Battlefield; Wilson's 
The Old Sergeant ; Bryant's Abraham Lincoln; Higginson's Decora- 
tion; Bryant's Our Country s Call; Stedman's Sumter; Bayard 
Taylor's To the American People, and Scott and the Veteran; 
Holmes's Voyage of the Good Ship Union; Stedman's Wanted — ' 
a Man; Whittier's Battle Autumn of 1862, and Laus Deo. 

Chapter XXVI. Pages 406-423. 

THE war with SPAIN IN 1898. 

The most useful book for schools is perhaps Henry Cabot Lodge's 
The War with Spain. 

The following books are also useful : Brooks's Story of Our War 
with Spain; Abbot's Blue Jackets of i8g8 ; Morris's The War with 
Spain; Davis's The War of i8g8 ; and Spears's Our Navy in the 
Spanish War. 



INDEX. 



Alabama, career of the . . . . 

destroyed by Kearsarge . . 

claims for damage paid by 

England 

Albemarle, destruction of the 
America, in old days . . . . 

ancient, people of ... . 
Andre, meeting with Arnold . . 

capture of 

sad fate of 

Appomattox, surrender of Lee at 

Arnold, Benedict, sent to relieve 

Fort Stanwix 

story of his treason . 271 

brilliant military career . . 

begins his wicked career 

meeting w^ith Andre . . . 

escape of 

after life of 

death of 

Barbary States, pirates of . . . 
Battles : Antietam 

Bennington 

Bon Homme Richard and 
Serapis 

Bull Run 

Bunker Hill .... 170 

Camden 

Cedar Creek 

Chancellorsville 

Chesapeake and Shannon . 



PAGE PAGE 

397 Battles : Chickamauga .... 377 

397 Concord 162 

Constitution and Guerriere . 327 

398 Cowpens 264 

403 Eutaw- Springs 269 

I Fair Oaks 365 

3 Forts Henry and Donaldson 365 

276 Freeman's Farm . . . .218 

277 Gettysburg 369 

281 Hobkirk's Hill 269 

380 Kearsarge and Alabama . . 397 
King's Mountain .... 261 

209 Lake Erie 333 

-285 Lexington 160 

273 Lookout Mountain . . . 377 

273 Manassas 364 

275 Manila 410 

280 Mobile 399 

281 Monitor and Merrimac . . 392 
283 Monmouth 239 

New Orleans .... 337, 390 

323 Oriskany 207 

365 Princeton 237 

213 Santiago 418 

Saratoga 219 

290 Trenton 233 

364 Vicksburg 375 

-183 Yorktown 242 

255 Bennington, battle of ... . 213 

381 Bon Homme Richard, battle with 

369 Serapis 290 

331 Boston boys and General Gage . 150 

436 



Index. 



437 



Boston massacre . . ■ 

tea party . . . . 

Port Bill . . . . 

Braddock, expedition of 

Buford massacre . . • 

Bull Run, battle of . . 

Bunker Hill, battle of . 

lesson taught by 

Monument . . . 

Burgoyne campaign . . 



170- 



Cabots, John and Sebastian 

their voyages . . • 
California enters the Union 

discovery of gold in . 

rush to gold regions of . 

Camden, defeat at 

Cedar Creek, Sheridan at . . 
Cervera and Spanish fleet . . 
Chancellorsville, battle of . . 
Charleston, defense of . . . 

capture of 

Chesapeake, battle with the Shan 

non 

Chickamauga, battle of . . 
Churches in colonial times 
Colonial times, everyday life in 
Colonies begin, to prosper . . 

tyrannical treatment of . 
Columbia River, discovery of 
Columbus, Christopher 

early life of . . 

seeks aid . . . 

first voyage of . 

welcome on return 

other voyages . 
Concord Bridge, fight at . . 
'Congress, First Continental . 

Second Continental . . 
Constitution, battle with Guer 



PAGE 

, 118 

.183 

, 180 

183 

i-2 2I 

, 26 

6, 27 
346 
346 
348 
255 
383 
415 
369 

251 

252 



riere . . . . 
her noble record 



331 
377 
129 
126 
141 
142 
341 

y° 
12 

14 

15 

19 

0-23 

162 

157 
190 

327 
330 



Cowpens, battle of 264 

Cuba, barbarities in 407 

rebels against Spain . . . 406 
Cushing, daring exploit of 402-405 

Decatur, exploits of 324 

Deerfield, attack on 112 

De Soto, Ferdinand .... 28-30 
Dewey, Admiral, victory at Manila 4 1 2 

nation's reception of . . 
Dustin, Hannah, story of . . 
Dutch, settlement in New York 

how they lived .... 

Emancipation of the slaves . 

proclamation of . 
Erie, Lake, battle of ... • 
Eutaw Springs, battle of . . 
Everyday home life one hundred 
years ago . . . -311 



Farragut, Admiral . . . 

captures New Orleans 

captures Mobile . . 

in the rigging at Mobile 
Fires, how put out one hundred 

years ago .... 
Flag, American, first raised 
Franklin, Benjamin . . . 296 

early life of . . . 

learns printer's trade 

goes to Philadelphia 

life in London . . 

career in Philadelphia 

famous kite experiment 

public career .... 

service as diplomatist . 

last days of ... • 
Freeman's Farm, battle of 
French in North America . 
French and Indian Wars . 

Gage, General, and Boston boys . 1 50 
plans to capture military stores 158 



414 

113 
92 
93 
366 
367 
333 
269 

-321 

390 
391 
399 
401 

316 
209 
-310 
297 
297 
299 
301 
302 
304 
305 
309 
310 
218 
106 
no 



438 



The Story of American History, 



Gates, General . . . . . 217 
Gettysburg, battle of . . 

memorials of 

Lincoln's address at . . . 
Gold, Discovery of, in California 

effects of discovery . . . 
Grant,General,successin the West 
Greene, General, takes command 
in South 

his masterly retreat 

rare generalship of . . 

brilliant campaign in South 



Henry, Patrick, speech of . 
Herkimer, General . . . 
Hobkirk's Hill, battle of . 
Hobson, brilliant exploit of 
Home life in colonial times 
Hudson, Sir Henry . 

enters Dutch service . 
discovers Hudson River 
his sad fate .... 



255 
-372 
372 
372 
347 
348 
375 

262 
265 
268 
269 

147 
206 
269 
416 

134 
88 
89 
90 
92 



Independence, Declaration of 184-197 

what it said to the world 

how received .... 

incidents connected with 

what it should mean . 
Independence declared . . 

slow growth of the idea 

stern necessity of . . 

first steps towards . . 
Indians 

principal divisions of . 

Pueblo 

appearance and clothing 

food of the .... 

weapons and how they fou 

as hunters .... 

cunning and revengeful 

their children .... 

ally themselves with French 



ght 



191 
194 

195 

197 

192 

185 

188 

190 

4 

4 

6 

IZ 

74 
76 
80 
82 

85 
III 



PAGE 
254 



Jackson, Andrew, anecdote of . 
wins the battle of New 
Orleans ....... 337 

Jackson, Stonewall 369 

Jasper, Sergeant, bravery of . .251 
Jones, John Paul, begins his re- 
markable career . . . .287 
daring deeds on English coast 288 
interview with Franklin . . 289 

after life of 294 

battle with the Serapis . . 290 

Kearsarge destroys the Alabama 397 
King's Mountain, battle of . . 261 

La Salle 107 

Laws, absurd and tyrannical . .143 
resistance to ..... 147 
Lee, General Charles, at Mon- 
mouth 240 

Lee, Robert E 371 

Lewis and Clarke expedition . .341 
Lexington, battle of .... 160 
Life, everyday, one hundred years 

ago 3"' 322 

Lincoln, Abraham, influence of 

mother 353 

reads good books . . 354, 356 

studies law 357 

chosen President .... 359 

death of 383 

Lookout Mountain, battle of . . yj'j 
Louisburg, capture of . . . .115 
Louisiana, purchase of ... . 340 



Maine, blo\ying up of the . 
Manila, naval victory at 
Marion, General .... 

method of fighting of . 

first exploits of . . . 

famous exploits of . . 

visit from British officer 



55 



409 
410 
-261 

257 
258 

259 
260 



Index. 



439 



McCrea, Jane, murder of . . . 205 

Meade, General 370 

Merrimac, attack on Union fleet 392 
battle with Monitor . . . 394 
Ministers and meeting-houses one 

hundred years ago . . .318 

Minute-men .167 

Mobile, capture of 399 

Monitor, building of '. . . . 392 

arrival of 393 

battle with the Merrimac . 394 
Monmouth, battle of .... 239 

Montcalm,- death of 125 

Morgan, General, victory at Cow- 
pens 264 

Naval operations on the Western 

rivers 3^^ 

Navy in the War of 181 2 . 323-338 
at beginning of the war for 

the Union ...... 387 

New England, rally of people in 

defense of 211 

New Orleans, battle of . . . . -Ty^] 
capture of . . . 365, 389-391 
Newspapers one hundred years 

ago 3" 

Northmen 6 



Oregon saved to the Union 



342 



Pacific Coast, settlement of 339-352 
Pacific Railroad, first built . . 353 

Penn, William 97 

becomes a Quaker .... 98 
establishes a colony in 

America 100 

kind treatment of Indians . loi 
treaty with Indians . . .102 

his old age 104 

Perry, Commodore, victory on 

Lake Erie 333 



PAGE 

Pilgrims, story of 47 

home in Holland .... 48 
voyage across Atlantic . . 51 

sign compact 52 

explorations of 53 

hardships and suffering of 60, 65 
visit from Indians .... 63 
peep into houses of ... 66 
household furniture of . . 69 

daily fare of 71 

Pitcher, MoUie, story of . . . 241 

Plymouth Rock 59 

Pocahontas, romantic story of . 41 

Ponce de Leon 27 

Pony Express, its history . . . 349 

Porter, Commodore 376 

Porto Rico, campaign in . . . 420 
Postal service one hundred years 

ago 

Potatoes first used in Europe 
Princeton, battle of . . . 
Privateers, Confederate . 

Quakers, persecution of 
Quebec, capture of . . . 



Railroad built to California 
Raleigh, Sir Walter . . . 
Revere, Paul, ride of . . 
Review in Washington, grand 
Richmond, capture of . . . 



312 

33 

237 

396 

96 
123 

352 
31 
159 
385 
380 



Sailors, American, treatment of 

by British 325 

Santiago, naval victory at . . . 418 

Saratoga, battle of 219 

effect of victory at ... 220 

Savannah, capture of .... 252 
Schoolmaster one hundred years 

ago 320 

Schools and schoolmasters in 

colonial times . . . •13^ 



440 



The Story of American History. 



366 

34 
35 

n 

40 

250 



PAGE 

Schuyler, General, and Burgoyne 

campaign 203 

Sheridan, General 381 

famous ride of 381 

Sherman, W. T., General . . . 378 

march to the sea .... 379 

Shiloh, battle of 375 

Slavery, a menace to the country 358 
Slaves, emancipation of the 
Smith, Captain John . . 

early career .... 

career in new world . 

and Pocahontas 
South, war of Revolution in 

cruel warfare in 253 

Spain, downfall of 406 

colonial policy of . . . .4-6 

Cuba rebels against . . . 406 

war declared against . . . 409 

end of war against . . .421 
Spanish fleet, preparations to 

meet 415 

Stage coaches one hundred years 

ago 314 

Stamp Act 145 

54 
208 
213 
266 

95 
361 
127 



Standish, Captain Miles . . . 
Stanwix, Fort, defense of . . . 
Stark, John, at Bennington . . 
Steele, Mrs., anecdote of . . . 

Stuyvesant, Peter 

Sumter, Fort, attack on . . . 
Sunday, in colonial times . 

how kept one hundred years 
ago 



Tablets, historic 169 

Tea Party, Boston 152 

Thomas, General 377 

Ticonderoga, capture of . . .201 
Tobacco, first use of by Euro- 
peans T,T^ 

Trenton, battle of 233 



Union, War for, beginning of . 361 

cost of 384 

situation after the .... 386 

Valley Forge, sufferings at . .238 

Vicksburg, capture of . . . .375 

Virginia, first attempt to colonize 32 

starving time in 44 

War, Civil, beginning of . . . 361 

cost of 384 

situation after the .... 386 

War of 18 1 2, causes of ... . 326 
results of 338 

Warren, Joseph 156 

death of 180 

Washington, George, first diffi- 
cult task 117 

with Braddock's expedition . 118 
boyhood and youth of . . 222 

as a surveyor 224 

as a colonial army officer . 226 
advancement in political 

honors 228 

as commander-in-chief . .229 
his many difficulties . . . 231 
victory at Trenton .... 233 
victory at Princeton . . . 237 
helps defeat Burgoyne . . 237 
plans Yorktown campaign . 242 
elected President .... 245 
retires to private life . . . 246 
death of 248 

Washington, Colonel, anecdote 

of 264 

Whitman, Dr., saves Oregon . . 342 
his perilous ride for Oregon 344 
success in his mission . -345 

Wolfe, capture of Quebec . . .123 

Yorktown, plan of campaign . . 242 
victory at 244 



'^-. 




